


A-Force: Assemble

by fanfics_she_wrote



Series: The Spider and his Superheroes [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: A-Force - Freeform, Bucky & Pepper & May co-parent really well, Gen, Harley and May have to Deal with the superfamily, I need an A-Force so I'll make my own, Morgan & Anya are chaotic, Morgan wants to be a superhero, Peter makes his own Avengers, Peter said no, this is a sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-06-29 02:47:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 35,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19820962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanfics_she_wrote/pseuds/fanfics_she_wrote
Summary: Sequel to The Soldier and his WidowEleven years. It's been eleven years since Tony Stark sacrificed himself for the universe. Eleven years since Natalia Barnes sacrificed herself for the universe. Eleven years since an old Steve Rogers passed his mantle on.Of course, where heroes are, villains will rise, despite most being retired. The Avenger fought those eleven years valiantly, but they've grown old, some more than others.It's up to Spiderman, previously the youngest Avenger, to reform the team, with new heroes and an old Norse warrior-queen.This is the story of Peter Parker, and his A-Force





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shrek_Is_A_Wreck](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Shrek_Is_A_Wreck).



> Okay first off, I wanna say a big thank you to AO3 user @Shrek_Is_A_Wreck for all the conversations we had on the previous book. They made me laugh whenever I read them and, more often than not, made my day. 
> 
> Also, this book is dedicated to @Shrek_Is_A_Wreck because without them, I would not have written this book, so everyone say Thank You to them for your sequel.

**_~~ 2023 ~~_ **

_"Mamma?"_

_It took every ounce of strength he had to look into her teary eyes and get the words out. "Mamma's gone,_ kroshka _. Mamma's not coming back."_

Anya curled up under the extra blanket Pepper had thrown over her and Bucky. Being in her father's arms wasn't the same as her mother's. Natasha had been smaller, her arms softer. She had fit perfectly around Anya.

Anya wanted to cry, but she didn't want to wake her father. Bucky's eyes were redder than her own, his voice hoarser. Anya did her best to comfort him, but what could she do when she herself needed it? The broken pair could only sit and grieve together.

The door to Morgan's bedroom cracked open as the child stepped in. She crept up to the bed and stared into Anya's wide eyes.

"Do you want a juice pop?" the younger girl eventually whispered.

* * *

Anya dropped the stick in the bin after Morgan and followed her to the living room.

"I miss my daddy," Morgan whispered.

"I miss my mamma," Anya said, climbing onto the sofa, next to Morgan.

Morgan sniffed, wiping her eyes with her pajama sleeve.

"It's okay to cry," Anya said, remembering her mother saying those words to her. "Don't let anyone tell you crying is bad."

Morgan leaned into Anya's hug. "I used to eat juice pops at night with my daddy. I want him to come back."

"Why'd you ask _me_ to eat one with you?"

"I didn't wanna be lonely."

"Oh."

They sat for a while before Morgan pulled away from Anya and slid off the couch to the helmet on the coffee table. She turned it around a few times before turning it on.

"Clever girl," the hologram of Tony Stark said, "I knew I could trust you to find it."

Morgan swallowed her surprise and gently set the helmet down before hurrying back to the sofa to sit with Anya.

"Morgan, I'm going to need you to do something for me. In this helmet, is a gift for a little girl called Anya Barnes. Her mom is gone, just like I am if you found this. I need you to find her and give it to her. And if you can, my brave little Morguna, be her friend. Look after each other. Peter will take care of you both. He'll love you, I know it."

Morgan shrunk into a little ball as the hologram of her father leaned forward to turn the helmet off. For the second time, he looked up at her. "Don't forget your mission, kiddo. I love you 3000, never forget that."

Despite the fact that she wanted to curl up and cry for a while, Morgan slipped off the couch and walked over to the table. Anya followed.

"Where is it?" Morgan murmured, turning the helmet over.

Anya peered into the helmet. "Maybe you have to put it on?"

Morgan glanced at Anya before jamming her father's helmet onto her head. She hit it with her palm before it fired up.

"Hello, Morgan," Friday greeted.

"Where's Anya's gift?" Morgan asked, getting straight to the point.

"Weaved into the helmet. Be careful. Perhaps you should ask --"

Morgan pulled the helmet off and it powered down.

"Who did you talk to just now?"

"Friday."

"Friday?"

"She's a supercomputer kind of lady. My daddy said the correct term is artificial intelligence. She said the gift my daddy told me about was weaved into the helmet."

Pepper woke up to find her bed empty of her five-year-old daughter. Bucky woke up to find Morgan's bed empty of his seven-year-old daughter. The pair nearly ran into each other as they exited the rooms. They heard voices coming from downstairs, voices of children. They shared a glance before heading down. Bucky stopped Pepper before they went all the way down. He held a finger to his lips and pointed.

"My mamma told me stories about your daddy and your mom. She said your daddy was one of her best friends. She said your mom was one of the cleverest women she ever met."

"My daddy also told me about your mamma, and a little bit about your dad too. He called your parents the Soviet Union. I don't understand why he thought it was funny. He said your mamma was one of the bravest women he'd ever met -- after my mom, obviously."

"Obviously," Anya agreed, nodding her head. She knew her father thought her mother was the bravest woman he'd ever met. Ever.

"He said he didn't know your dad very well, but if your mamma loved and trusted him, then my dad would trust him too."

Pepper and Bucky watched their daughters talk to each other about their deceased parents, but not as if Tony and Natasha were dead. They spoke as if the pair were still alive, just not within reach.

"What are they doing?" Pepper whispered. Bucky shrugged.

"What's this?" Anya asked, picking something up off the table.

"I don't know. My daddy said it's for his Iron Legion. Or maybe he said Iron Legend. Or legacy. I don't know. It was late at night."

"Can I try it?"

Morgan turned her head to Anya. "It might be dangerous."

Anya shrugged and slipped the device into her ear. "Woah!"

"Shh! My mom and your dad are still sleeping."

"Sorry."

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure. I reminds me of Wakandan gadgets. Like Shuri's sand table and things."

Morgan glanced at Anya. "You see sand?" she asked flatly.

"No, it's like its speaking to me."

Morgan stopped whatever she was doing and turned to Anya. "What's it saying?"

Anya looked at the helmet. "Pull that piece off," she said, pointing.

Morgan complied.

In the back, Bucky and Pepper watched Anya instruct Morgan on what to do.

"Woah," Morgan said a moment later.

Bucky instantly recognised the chain Morgan held up. "This is beautiful."

"It was my mamma's," Anya said, taking it from Morgan's outstretched arm. "How did your daddy get it?"

Morgan shrugged. "What's that black circle? How come its with a gold necklace?"

"That's mine. Shuri gave it to me. She calls it a digital photo frame. Mamma must've put it with her locket. You wanna see a photo of my mamma and my dad when they were younger?"

Both excited, Morgan nodded and Anya popped the locket open. "Look at that."

"Why are they fighting?" Morgan asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"They're _training_ ," Anya said.

Morgan turned the photo over. "What's that word?"

"Photographic."

"And that's evidence?"

"Mmhm."

"Your mamma was a dancer?"

"On the side. She was an Avenger. She was a superhero."

"My daddy could do ballet," Morgan said with a giggle. "He showed me some steps once. I always fell. What does the black thingie do?"

"Oh, you'll like this," Anya said, having picked up on Morgan's subtle love for technology.

Morgan, along with Bucky and Pepper, watched as Anya snapped the disc down the middle and set it on the table.

"That's me with my mamma and my dad the week after they brought me home. It's my favourite picture in the whole world."

"So, it's like a photo frame?"

All four were surprised when the image of the Barnes family was replaced with a spectrogram. "Voice identification active. Please state your full name." The feminine voice seemed somewhat familiar to Pepper, almost like Friday, but she knew it wasn't Tony's AI.

Anya and Morgan shared a glance. "It's _your_ weird thing," Morgan said, shrugging.

"Anya Barnes."

"Please state your full name."

"Anastasia Volkova-Barnes," she tried hesitantly.

Suddenly, the voice didn't seem so proper and formal. "I am a Virtual Integrated Rapidly-evolving Grid-based Intelligent Lifeform. I am one of many designed by Tony Stark as a backup should Friday inconceivably fail. Mr Stark labelled my drive as Virgil, I suppose that would be my name. I was loaded into your disc when Tony Stark discovered that Natalia Barnes had sacrificed herself to save the universe. Would you like to access the Red Hot Mess archive?"

Bucky sank to the step, realising what Tony had given Anya. Slowly, Pepper sat down beside him. 

"What's that?" Morgan asked. 

"Hello, Morgan."

Morgan's eyes widened. "You know me."

"I know all of Anastasia's family. Would you like to access the Red Hot Mess archive?"

"Yes," Anya said.

All four of them seemed to have become numb at the twelve-year-old footage the archive held. Bucky and Pepper nearly fell down the stairs. Anya and Morgan fell back against the sofa. 

" _Rule number one_ ," a much younger Happy said, standing in a boxing ring, " _Never take your eyes off_ \--"

They watched Natasha turn back to Happy and grab his arm before flipping him over and locking him down with her legs. In the corner of the footage, Tony -- missing the grey hairs Morgan was so used to -- stood up from beside a horrified Pepper. "That's what I'm talking about!"

"Show me more," Anya said softly, leaning forward.

" _Can I ask you a question, hypothetically? Bit odd. If this was your last birthday party you were ever gonna have, how would you celebrate it?_ "

Natasha took a second to answer. " _I'd do whatever I wanted to do with whoever I wanted to do it with._ "

Bucky and Pepper sat side by side, both knowing how the other felt, neither knowing how to offer comfort. So they sat in silence, neither moving. It was enough. _I'm here for you_.

"More," Anya whispered.

"Would you like to view more recent items in the archive?" Virgil asked.

"Yes."

In the footage they were next presented with, Natasha was laughing. Her hair, in a thick braid, swung violently as she almost fell off the table she was sitting on. 

" _Oh, come on_!" Tony was yelling off camera, " _Goddamnit, Agent Romanoff, I know how to use a coffee machine_!"

Natasha laughed until she was curled up, clutching her sides until tears squeezed from her eyes and she made no sounds. Tony wandered into the frame, drenched -- assumingly with coffee. " _I'm fifty-three, not_ Steve! _I swear I do know how to use it_."

Despite his clear annoyance, Tony found himself laughing with or at Natasha. 

Both adults had the same thought on their minds. _I'll never see that smile again_.

"Would you like to view the last saved item in the archive?"

"Yes."

" _Nat_!" Tony was half in the frame, yelling for Natasha, " _I promise it won't kill you_."

The innocent claim, said with the echo of laughter, tore through Bucky's heart. 

" _I'm not letting Friday keep a recording of me looking like this_!" Natasha cried, off camera. They heard Tony sigh and angle the camera so that it was on Natasha. She had a twig tangled in her hair. Tony snorted. " _What lesson did we learn from this_?"

" _Don't mess with the build-a-bear raccoon_ ," Natasha grumbled, folding her arms. 

Tony joined Natasha on the couch. " _I did warn you_."

Natasha pushed him off. " _If you're not going to help me get this out of my hair, then go to hell_!"

The video went on, forgotten, as Tony helped Natasha untangle her hair. There was nothing to the video, but none of them wanted it to end. They had been given a look at what Natasha and Tony were like days before their death. They had been given a window to see Natasha and Tony when they were happy, smiling and laughing. 

" _That recording you left, I hope you come back to delete it_."

Tony's hands froze in Natasha's hair for a second. " _So do I. If you were going to leave something like that, what would you say_?"

They watched Natasha scrunch her nose up as she thought. " _They better take care of my guns. And each other, I guess_." Natasha paused, and her amused smile faded into something sombre. " _If I go, will you look after my family_?"

" _Of course_."

Natasha smiled. " _Thank you_."

" _If I go, will you look after mine_?"

" _Of course_." 

While the girls had slowly started to smile again, silent tears rolled down Bucky's face. Pepper bit her lip as she sat down beside Bucky, allowing him to cry into her shoulder.

She knew he needed it. She knew exactly what he needed. After all, she felt the same kind of grief he did.

"Morgan?"

"Hm?"

"I want you to be my best friend for ever and ever. When it's tomorrow, I'm going to ask my dad and your mom if we can stay here with you forever. Or if you and your mom can come back to Wakanda with me."

Morgan gave Anya a smile. "Okay."

The pair climbed back onto the couch and were soon fast asleep. Neither Pepper nor Bucky had the heart to separate them and take them back to bed, so they carried the girls to Pepper's room and let them sleep there.

"Coffee?" Pepper asked when Bucky closed the door behind him. "It's only a few hours until morning anyway."

"Yeah, thanks."

He followed her down to the kitchen, where the wrappers of the girls' juice pops were discarded on the counter.

"Thank you," he said again when Pepper handed him the steaming mug.

"You should stay," Pepper said after a moment of sitting at the table in silence.

"No, I can't. I'll explain it to --"

"Stay," Pepper repeated, more of an order than an offer. "I know what you want to do. You'll go back to Wakanda and you'll isolate yourself, and by default, Anya. It's going to hurt like a bitch without her, Bucky, but you'll get by. Trust me."

They glanced out to the living room, where the eyes of Tony's helmet flickered a few times.

"We both have to," Pepper said, "for them."

Neither knew if Pepper was talking about Anya and Morgan, or Natasha and Tony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again dears
> 
> So, title subject to change. I'm not too happy with it. But it really could be worse. I'm thinking it'll end up being somewhere among the likes of _The Soldier and his Widow_.   
> Previous/other options include "gems" like:  
> The Spider and his Squad   
> The Spider and his Sisters (or Super-sisters but that just made me go BLERGH)  
> Pls help ur resident gremlin author
> 
> Now that that's out of the way,
> 
> WLECOME, ONE AND ALL!  
> to my first sequel on AO3. It will be significantly shorter than _The Soldier and his Widow_ and will most likely not do flashbacks like _The Soldier and his Widow_. Fear not, for you will understand it!  
> (If u don't, lemme know cause that means editing needs to be done)
> 
> Also, the "epilogue" in the previous book has been altered, but only slightly. DO NOT worry about heading over and re-reading it, because the scene will be added in here with all its changes. 
> 
> And, as always, I would love to hear your thoughts as they not only make me happy to hear what you think, but it also helps me improve this and future works..
> 
> Adieu, my dears, the next chapter will arrive soon.


	2. Chapter 2

_**~~ 2034 ~~** _

"Oh, come _on_ , Peter!"

"No."

"You never let me help out!"

"You are a child, Morgan Howard Stark, and I will not allow your father to haunt my ass for letting you onto a battlefield." Peter paused and studied Morgan's defiant expression. " _Earn it_ ," he said firmly.

"Oh, I will."

Anya followed Morgan with her eyes as she entered and Morgan stormed out. "Well, _she_ looks happy."

A tired Peter Parker heaved a heavy sighed and dragged his hand over his face. "She wants me to speak to Hill about letting her join Sword Earth."

Anya hopped onto the desk. "You're the best agent Sword has, Spider-brother. Hill would listen to you."

"I _know_ ," Peter grumbled, sitting down in the office chair with another sigh. "And Morgan knows it too."

Anya shrugged as she leaned back to see Peter. "Maybe that's not such a bad thing, Pete. She's definitely capable."

Peter sighed again and gave Anya a solemn look.

Anya sighed. "I know, brother."

"I told her to earn it, little wolf. I told her . . . it's inevitable. Morgan's going to end up joining Sword Earth. God, I hope HQ doesn't see her potential and beam her up to the Peak or something."

"Morgan will be fine, Peter. She might have Mr Stark's blood in her veins, but she's her mom's daughter. She can take care of herself better than Tony ever could."

Peter sighed yet again. "What did you want, little wolf?"

"I came to help. You mentioned you were looking for eligible teammates to help you sniff out Sin."

Peter's gaze snapped from his computer to Anya. "Who told you about Sin? I did mention that I was looking for teammates, but I said nothing about why."

Anya smiled sheepishly. "Morgan and I bugged your laptop because we wanted to witness it when MJ skype called to tell you she, Ned and Betty were having fun in Monte Carlo without you."

"That was three weeks ago, little wolf," Peter deadpanned, "they returned two weeks ago."

"Yeah, I know. Morgan told me to debug your computer, but I just . . . never got down to it?"

Peter heaved _another_ sigh. "Anya . . . how much do you know?"

"As much as you." Anya leaned back on the table and peered at the laptop screen. "I'm sorry, brother. Really, I am. I only realised it was Sword files after I'd read half the documents but by then, I needed to know everything or I was sure I'd spontaneously combust. Sorry."

"This is it," Peter groaned, massaging his temples. "This is how I die. I can see the headlines. Sword's best agent found dead in the Stark-Barnes-Parker residence. Spiderman killed by the fury of a parent. Romanova Institute co-founder dies when --"

"Okay, okay, I got it. That's enough."

"You and Morgan are going to drive me off the edge of the planet."

"But the planet's not flat. . ."

"It's a phrase, Anya. I'm just saying, between the two of you, either Pep will take me off the will or Buck's gonna throw me off the tower." Peter thought for a moment. "Harley might rescue me. Of course, he'll just beat me up later."

"Peter. No one's going to hurt you. Morgan's only sixteen. There's no way Hill will recruit her without your so-say, let alone all her legal guardians'. Remember, she's not Fury."

Peter closed his eyes at the memory of Fury knocking on the door of their home not even six months after the battle, asking for the Winter Soldier, Spiderman, and "whatever the hell Ms Potts is calling herself" to help him fight off a new enemy.

"Hill won't even let Morgan into Sword if you ask her to keep Morgan out. Hill trusts you and your judgement. Maybe even a little more than she trusts Fury."

"I know, little wolf. I know."

"I meant it, by the way. I came here to help. I was going through some of the files you had sent to yourself from Sword's database. I think I have some ideas for your team."

* * *

Morgan banged the hammer against the metal with the fury of a thousand armies.

"Morgan, you're going to render that piece useless."

"Then it'll be just like me," Morgan snapped at the AI, "full of capabilities, utterly useless."

"Morgan," Friday warned, "you know Peter only does what he thinks is best for you. Everyone does that for each other in this home."

"I know," Morgan grumbled, setting the hammer down and sighing, "that's what makes me so angry. I can't be upset with _anyone_."

"Perhaps it'll do you some good to go out for the evening. Shall I speak to your mother about it?"

Morgan thought for a moment. "Nah. I wanna finish the suit first. Once I'm finally and fully done with it, I can use it. If Peter won't let me join Sword, I'll make them _recruit_ me."

"That seems like a _very_ unwise idea, Morgan."

"I know, Friday."

* * *

May smoothed down her skirt as she walked into the office, pushing the door open with her shoulder as she scrolled through a tablet. "Afternoon, Pep. I just got off the phone with Hammer Tech's CEO and she wants to strike a deal."

Pepper raised her eyebrows. "No. We don't do business with Hammer. They're assholes."

"Pep, it's been almost twenty-five years. Justin Hammer even retired!"

Pepper shook her head. "I don't trust that company."

"Good," May said, setting the tablet down. "I don't trust them either. I just didn't want my personal opinions to sway your judgement. She sounded really sketchy. If I didn't know any better, I'd say I was on the phone with Hammer himself. She was talking about a merge. Didn't sound too profitable for us."

"So what did you tell her?"

May looked at Pepper like she was an idiot. "I put her on hold. It's an ancient technique that I heard Tony used to get out of conversations with people."

"You put -- you put her _on_ _hold_?"

"Yeah. She was starting to annoy me."

Pepper put her head in her hands. "You and Bucky are going to make me jump out of my office window. This morning, James offered to drive me to the office and said we'd drop the girls off at school on the way. May, he stopped for cheeseburgers at seven in the morning."

May shrugged. "Well, Morgan does love them. Anyway, I only put her on hold for about a minute before picking up again and letting her know I'll speak to you. Of course, that was just to get her to shut up so I could put the phone down without being branded as rude."

Pepper sighed in relief. "Okay, that's acceptable. Okay, um, give it a day, then call her and tell her I don't want to merge with Hammer Tech. If she gets pissy, tell her I said she can shove a corndog up her nose."

"I will quote you on that," May said with a smile. "How are you holding up?"

"Fine," Pepper said with a nod. "Fine."

"You sure? Tomorrow marks eleven exact years."

Pepper nodded again. "Will you be joining Bucky and I at the Stark Industries Annual Memorial?"

May thought about it for a second. "Who's gonna babysit the kids?"

Pepper smiled. "Harley and Peter have both been attending since the first one. I figured it's time we make the girls attend at least one."

"Morgan's gonna throw a _fit_."

Pepper shrugged. "She can come for the memorial or she can have Friday confine her to the house while we spend the evening in the tower."

"Wicked ultimatum."

"I know. I'm a genius in my own right."

"I never doubted you."

* * *

Bucky did a second round on the tower's ground floor, making sure everything was ready for the evening. Renovating the tower hadn't been a goal for any of them, but once Harley mentioned it a month after the funeral, the ball started rolling. Every second day, when evening came, May would bring Peter over, and Happy would join them. They'd sit around the table and make plans while May stared at a recipe book and then closed it, deciding to order dinner from somewhere.

Five months later, the tower had been reconstructed the way Tony had envisioned it, the Avengers symbol bright against the night sky.

The Avengers flocked to it like moths to a flame. Pepper stood tall as Tony had done, and Bucky wore the shield the way Steve once did. Neither could ever be the ones whose shoes they were meant to fill, but they did their job excellently.

Pepper didn't have the genius-level intellect Tony did, but she was sharp, she was quick, and she was a _corporate_ genius unlike any other. Pepper kept the tower alive, just as she kept Stark Industries alive, just like she helped Bucky form the Romanova Institute for the Youth, just like she kept her family going. On the field, Rescue came up with intricate and effective plans on the spot, resulting in victory almost all the time.

Bucky could never be Steve Rogers. He could never be the same Captain America. Bucky wasn't so noble, so honourable, so hopeful. He was strong, he was unyielding, he was loyal. While Pepper kept everything running smoothly, Bucky kept everyone in line. Bucky made sure everyone who stayed in the tower, no matter how long, was cared for. And on the field, the Winter Soldier often found himself shielding a calculating Rescue while she was distracted by her thoughts, and when she revealed her grand plan riddled with risk, he was the first one to jump in behind her -- mostly to save her ass so she could kick ass later.

Bucky and Pepper knitted the Avengers together after the loss of the very first, to deaths or other reasons. They had been operational for nine years. Eight years ago, Sword came to earth to set up a base. Maria Hill took it upon herself to run Sword, after having faithfully served Fury when he ran Shield. Sword stayed out of the Avengers' way and the Avengers tried not to patronise Sword.

The idea that her superiors at Sword might one day meet the heads of the Avengers gave Maria migraines and nightmares. She hoped the day would _never_ come. When she found out the Avengers disbanded and swore to leave matters to Sword, Maria bit back her joy. At least she would never have to witness unstoppable force versus immovable object.

Weeks after the Avengers dispersed, in swung Peter Parker, who had his fun with the Avengers and needed to do more. He quickly rose in the ranks in the last two years, becoming the best agent Sword had to offer. He was three steps away from visiting the Peak and being stationed within HQ. Of course, Peter would never leave his girls, so he never sought out any higher status within the intelligence agency. Besides, even if he considered it, Harley would hold him down while their sisters beat him up.

Maria held Peter in a higher standard than his rank. She saw him as an equal, someone she knew she could turn to if Sword turned out to be infiltrated by rats. She couldn't help likening her relationship with Peter to the one Fury had with her. Something about Peter just told her to trust him. So when Peter slumped into her office one afternoon, lamenting the fact that the Avengers had disbanded, she gave him her signed approval to reform the team.

Peter knew Pepper and Bucky would never re-join the fight. He'd considered the others, but most had seriously retired, some with families, others looking to find one. Everyone was still welcome at the tower, but they all came as family, not as superheroes.

Bucky turned in a circle in the centre of the room, daring something to be out of place.

"Looks amazing, James."

Bucky turned to the entrance. "Ladies and gentlemen, your hostess has arrived, Mrs Pepper Stark!"

"Very funny," Pepper said, laughing as she walked in. "You have something to wear tonight, or do I need to call Happy again?"

"I've got something," Bucky assured her with a nod, "I took the girls out yesterday so _they_ could get something."

"I heard. Morgan called it an educational experience."

"Well, excuse me for not bothering to learn the difference between lavender and lilac."

"All things considered, I think you did well. At least no one was crying."

"Pep! That was nine years ago! I didn't know the store was full of Iron Man toys!"

Pepper smiled. "I know, I know. Think we'll have a full hall?"

Bucky shrugged. "Clint called to say his kids want to come again after their first one last year, so they'll definitely be here. Carol called into Sword to let Hill know she'd be dropping in for the night. Scott's ex-wife, what's her name again?"

"Maggie."

"Yeah, Maggie said she and Jim would be attending, but no mention of bringing Cassie, Hope or Scott along, so that's a maybe. I hear they've found something but Maggie doesn't know where. Let's see, who else . . . Oh, the Wakandan Royal family will attend. Who am I missing?"

Pepper frowned. "Did you manage to get a message to the Guardians?"

"Right, that's who I forgot. I didn't, but I asked Hill to send out a signal. Anya's working on it too. I don't think Thor will miss it, though. But then again, he might not think he could handle Earth without three of his closest. Of course, Nebula will ram the ship into anyone who tries to keep her from Morgan, so they'll be here, I'm sure of it. Them aside, all our usual guests will be here, and there will be enough room for the _non_ -Avenger guests we have."

Pepper nodded. "Sounds good."

Bucky glanced around the hall once more, his gaze stopping on the photo frames they _never_ took down. "It never gets easier."

Pepper followed his gaze. "No, you only get stronger. She'd be proud of you."

Bucky gave Pepper a smile. "Not half as proud as he'd be of you . . . Rescue."

"Oh, shut up. I'm retired."

"You're like half my age. Clearly, _you_ are the weak one."

"Half your _calendar_ age. Biologically, I've got about twenty years on you. Retirement is perfectly logical for me."

Bucky rolled his eyes. "Shut up," he grumbled.

"Speaking of, I was thinking about officially retiring from Stark Industries."

Bucky's jaw dropped as they left the hall. "What? Why? When? Who'll take your place?"

"Harley, of course. Ever since I gave him the job eleven years ago, he's proved his worth. I considered Peter, but he has enough on his plate with the job he has now and Sword on top of it. Morgan . . . she's sixteen. She has bigger problems than the state of her father's company."

Bucky shrugged. "Okay, that makes sense."

"I keep thinking about how _I_ landed the job. Years ago, I would've complained, saying it was just my bad luck I ended up working for Tony. Truth is, I can't really complain, I loved working for him, with him, around him. He could be a pain in the ass, but I loved him. Then one day, he appoints me CEO. Just like that, out of the blue."

"Yeah, well, who else was he gonna appoint? The man had trust issues."

Pepper threw Bucky a glare. He laughed. "Sorry."

"Like your wife didn't have enough of those herself."

"That's fair," Bucky said with a nod. He opened the car door for Pepper. "I'll see you later tonight."

Pepper paused, halfway into the car. "Why? Where are you going?"

"I'm taking a trip to Norway."

"New Asgard?"

"Yup."

"The Valkyrie?"

"One and only. Think she'll accept the invitation?"

"Good luck," Pepper said with a laugh.

"Thanks."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thoughts?


	3. Chapter 3

Morgan grudgingly admitted that she was glad she had come. She had expected the event to be a sombre dinner. She hadn't expected her mother to channel her father and throw a party. It made sense to Morgan, though. In order to truly honour a man like Tony Stark, you'd have to do something Tony Stark-like.

Anya just wished her mother could see her father awkwardly follow Pepper around so that no one really bothered him.

Anya turned around a walked right into someone. "Aunt May!"

May smiled. "Hello, Anya. Enjoying yourself?"

Anya nodded. "I didn't know this would be a social event."

May shrugged. "Yeah, well, I was pretty surprised the first time 'round. You get used to it, though. Peter and Pepper are convinced Tony would have wanted it this way."

Anya glanced at her father, who was _not_ pleased with being forced to play host. "I think my mother would have agreed."

"So, what's this I hear about you indirectly working for Sword?"

"Peter just can't keep his mouth shut, can he?"

May smiled. "I don't think so."

"I'm not actually working for Sword. I'm just helping Peter out with a little homework. It's my payment for him helping me with all that chemistry all these years."

"Hey, Aunt May," MJ greeted, "sup, wolfie."

Anya and May returned the greeting before May left to mingle with other people her age. "You good?"

Anya nodded. "Yeah. You looking for Peter?"

MJ shook her head. "Peter's with Ned. I'm doing the social thing that everybody's so fond of."

"It sucks. You're gonna love it."

MJ smiled. "I'm just here for the drinks, wolfie. How are you holding up?"

Anya shrugged. "I still miss her, but . . . it gets easier to just focus on the fact that she'd want me to be happy. Gets better with time."

" _Everything_ gets better with time, kid. Peter tells me you've been snooping?"

"It was an accident," Anya defended.

"Uh-huh," MJ said, not believing the teenager at all. "What did you find?"

"Peter's reforming the Avengers, but he's stumped on who to call in. I'm gonna help him put the team together."

"That's it?"

Anya shrugged. "Maybe I'll ask him if he can speak to Hill about Sword taking me on as a base agent. I'm not too fond of the action."

"I don't believe that for one second. Peter tells me your stories, you know. You reprogrammed Wakandan tech to your fingerprint when you were _six_."

Anya shrugged. "Maybe I'll stay in the tech department. God knows Peter could use a little help perfecting his suit."

MJ snorted, remembering when Peter had grudgingly shown her Spiderman's first suit. She still found herself lying awake at night, thinking about a fifteen-year-old Peter in that onesie, running around and stopping crime and she just giggles to herself in the middle of the night.

"Your mom was badass, though. Really. Peter really loved her a lot. He thought she was wicked."

Anya smiled as memories of Natasha flew through her mind. "I thought she was the best person in the whole world."

"I like to think she was. I hope she knows it was worth it, that you and your dad are alive and still smiling."

"She knows," Anya said with a smile. She turned to glance at the centre portrait on the main wall. "Tony must've told her."

"C'mere, kid," MJ said, opening her arms for Anya.

"Lovesick," Ned muttered.

"Indecisive as hell," Peter countered immediately, tearing his gaze from MJ. "You're together again, aren't you?"

Betty Brant snorted. Peter smiled victoriously. Ned frowned.

"I'm gonna go speak to Shuri," Peter told the couple. "Feel free to mingle."

They both rolled their eyes at Peter as he left.

"A dance, your highness?"

Shuri regarded Peter with a blank expression. "What do you want, Parker?"

"I want you to join the reformed Avengers," Peter said, not hesitating to be frank with the warrior princess.

"Parker, the Black Panther is the protector of Wakanda."

"Okay, and? Thor was the sovereign heir and a guardian of Asgard and _he_ joined the original Avengers."

"He had no choice. He came to earth for his brother. Parker, I am your best friend and the most amazing princess you'll ever meet, and I will no doubt be glad to help you and provide you with tech and Wakandan gear, but the Black Panther belongs to _Wakanda_."

Peter pouted. "Your brother helped the Avengers."

"When the universe was at stake," Shuri countered.

"Oh, come _on_! What do I have to do to get you to work with me? Do I have to dangle Vibranium in front of you?"

"Don't be an ass, Parker, I'm kidding."

Peter glowered at the princess. "Don't be an ass, Parker," he mimicked, twisting his features and bobbing his head. "Don't be an ass, _Shuri_."

"I'm sorry, but I wish you could've seen your face." Shuri was trying to keep her laughter at bay, now, covering her mouth with her hand. "But on a more serious note, you must understand that my country comes first. I will drop you high and dry without a second thought for Wakanda should there be the need."

Peter nodded. "I wouldn't expect any less, your highness."

"Hey, stop that bowing. I believe you asked me for a dance."

Peter smiled and held put his hand to Shuri. "So, when are you proposing to MJ?"

"Shuri!"

"All right, I won't ask you prying questions. What are you calling this team?"

"Er . . . what's wrong with calling it as it is? I'm re-instating the Avengers so --"

"No, the Avengers are those who came before us. We are the new generation. We are _not_ the Avengers."

Peter hummed in thought. "I'll get back to you on that one."

Shuri nodded. "Do you have any ideas on who else you'll ask to join your team?"

"Our little wolf helped put together a list. Your name was first on it. I'm going to take a two-week 'vacation' to locate and visit the rest. Do you want to know?"

Shuri shook her head. "Surprise me. When do you want us at Sword?"

Peter shrugged. "I'll send word once I've gathered everyone else. If I run into problems, I'll be asking you to help in the persuasion department."

"You have Morgan and Harley, both of whom have the gift of persuasion."

Peter shrugged. "Harley's swamped with CEO-training, as Pep calls it, and Morgan and I aren't really in a good place."

"Still trying to join Sword?"

"Mmhm."

"She will have her chance, Parker. When it comes, don't snuff her flame. Will Anya join you in your recruitment travels?"

Peter shrugged again. "She has school. I'll speak to Bucky."

Shuri nodded. "Good. Now that that's out of the way, let's get back to my first question. When are you proposing to MJ?"

"When you get off my back," Peter said, giving Shuri a spin.

"Hey, don't make me dizzy now!"

* * *

"Okay, out with it. What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Peter cried, unable to _not_ answer Pepper. "I haven't done anything _wrong_ , anyway. Look, I told you Hill gave me the go-ahead to reform the Avengers, right?"

Pepper nodded.

"And we already told you we won't take to a battlefield if we don't have to," Bucky said.

"I know," Peter said quickly, holding his hand out in front of him. It was hard to shake the 'but-wait-I-can-explain' stance.

"Then what do you want?" May asked.

"I have some people I want to speak to, most of whom were suggested by Anya. I want to take the girls with me to meet each one. It's the closest Morgan's gonna get to Sword for a few years at least, and Anya was the one who helped me put together the potential team."

Bucky and Pepper shared a glance before they both leaned forward to look at May. The three seemed to communicate in silence before they looked at Peter and as one, they nodded.

"Nothing dangerous," May said, "this is _just_ a trip to meet up with potential Sword agents."

Peter smiled. "It's more like seeking out some friends."

"Are you taking Harley along?" Pepper asked.

Peter raised his eyebrows. "I thought you wanted him to shadow you at work."

Pepper shrugged. "Maybe he could use the break. When are you planning on leaving?" 

"The Saturday when Spring break begins, to ensure I get the girls back before school starts. At most, I plan to be gone for the entirety of Spring Break."

"All right," Bucky said, "you should get packing. There are only two days left."

"It'll be fun," Peter said, smiling, "the girls will love it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sibling vacation .... should be fun, right?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna say, if I have forgotten to, that I may have forgotten how to write. All this in-canon fanfiction has messed with my ability to come up with my own stories. That said 
> 
> I'M SORRY FOR ALL THE CRUD ON IT'S WAY

Morgan was screaming. Not in pain, or anything. She was just bored. With a sigh, Harley moved the balance to the back and turned the radio up. Hopefully, Morgan would start singing along instead.

Anya wasn't bothered with the sounds. She was happy to sit in her corner and tinker with a wristband Shuri had gifted her a while back.

"Bringing them along was a mistake," Peter grumbled.

Harley leaned his head against the window. "Yeah, but it's not like you'd have left them at home even if you'd known it would be like this."

"True."

"Where's our first stop?"

"Missouri, the Barton homestead. We'll spend a day or two there, maybe the girls will get along with Nic, Cal and Nath. When I call, Hill's gonna send one or two Sword agents to drop off a jet and pick up the car."

"Why can't we just take the car to the next stop? Morgan's screeching aside, the road trip would be fun."

" _You_ wanna drive to Norway, Harley?"

Harley rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You're going to see the Valkyrie?"

Peter nodded. "I'm going to ask her. Worst case is she says no."

Harley shrugged. "Where else?"

"Not sure. I'll let you know soon enough."

"All right. Wake me up in Ohio. I'll drive to Missouri."

Peter nodded as Harley put his feet up on the dash and slouched in the seat, dropping Anya's cardigan over his face to block out the sun.

The siblings made multiple stops from New York to Missouri, the seventeen-hour drive proving to be a nice bonding experience for them. Well, cutting out every odd half-hour where Morgan either shrieked to herself or sang along to a nursery rhyme. Harley had been annoyed only once, when Peter yelled at the top of his lungs with Morgan as they sang about some favourite rocketship. Peter then threatened to throw Harley out of the car when the older man started singing 'The Wheels on the Bus' with the girls.

All in all, it was a seventeen hours well spent.

Anya and Morgan, who had had their fair share of sleep during the drive, were energetic enough to race outside to be entertained by the Barton children. Peter and Harley gave the couple their thanks and fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

* * *

Peter stood on the front porch, leaning against the wooden beam with his arms folded as he watched Nicole show off her archery skills in the distance. He smiled when he saw her teach Morgan to shoot an arrow. A little further away, Anya and Callum teased Nathaniel, throwing the ball far too high for the monkey in the middle to catch. Nathaniel seemed to be having fun, though.

"Hey, kid."

Peter turned away from the five to see Clint come up behind him. "Hey."

"What brings you all the way out here?"

"Sword," Peter answered honestly, "a new age of Avengers. A new threat that needs a new brand of Earth's Mightiest Heroes."

Clint nodded out to the field. "Callum?"

Peter shook his head. "Cal's not the kind to head out into battle. He wouldn't want to. I came to speak to Nicole. I knew she'd be home during spring break to spend some time with Nath while he's home from school. I figured the girls wouldn't mind spending a few days out here. It's peaceful. I was going to bring everyone out here, but Pep has Stark Industries to run, Aunt May needs to keep Pepper eating and sleeping on time, and Bucky has his part-time job at Steve's old age home. The man just doesn't want to die."

Clint laughed. "Don't be rude, kid."

"It's true! He's lived like two hundred years already!"

"I guess. All right, let me go keep Morgan occupied. I'll send Nicole up here."

Peter nodded his thanks as Clint left the house.

* * *

"You want me to what?"

Peter dropped a Manila folder on the Barton's dining room table. Nicole looked up at Peter before sliding the folder towards her. "Who or what is Sin?"

"Don't know yet. Whoever is it, she tried to get into Sword's databases. Morgan's Herbie kicked her off, but not before a little demonstration. Not even actually there, Sin managed to put three Sword agents in a coffin and another seven on their deathbeds. Sword can't handle her."

Nicole suddenly scoffed. "You know what this reminds me of?"

"Hm?"

"When Shield knew they couldn't handle Loki, so Fury put the Avengers Initiative into action."

Peter walked along the length of the table. He stopped at the end and faced Nicole. "Sword isn't Shield. Shield focused on the planet and the people on it. Sword is universal. And if Sword Earth can't handle Sin, they'll send Peak agents to take care of the problem. Sword's Peak agents don't care about collateral lives. Their target is the enemy and God help anyone who trips and falls into their path."

"You think we can step up to the Avengers' level?" Nicole asked, absently paging through the folder.

Peter shrugged. "Whether we can or not isn't the question. It's whether we _should_ or not. Hill gave me the go-ahead because she knows what Peak agents are like. If I can't wrap up Sin, they'll send those guys down here. If they do . . . I'm almost twelve percent sure we would have been better off fighting Thanos without Tony Stark."

Nicole raised her eyebrows. "That bad?"

"I've been to the Peak once and I hope I never see them ever again in my life." 

"Wow. Okay . . . so you want to form a team."

Peter sat down across Nicole. "Nick Fury put down the Avengers Initiative the moment he met an alien. It was an idea, to bring together a group of remarkable people, to see if they could become something more. See if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles we never could."

"And what are _you_ putting down?"

"I don't know for sure, Nic. But what I do know is that the Avengers were there when the world needed them. They were there to save the whole damn universe. If they could come together to save the universe, we can pull our socks up to wrap up some bitch with superior tech skills."

"You saying she's better than me?"

"I'm saying you might be the only one I know that can get so far into Sword's database, Sin won't see you coming."

"Do I get to use my dad's old Shield-issued weapons if it gets physical?"

"Nic, at this point, Sword Earth will give you weapons you never even dreamed could exist. _No one_ wants Peak down here. Trust me."

Nicole closed the folder and pushed it towards Peter. "Who else are you going to get?"

"Shuri's in. I'm going to find Cass, and I'm paying the Valkyrie a visit."

"The girls?"

Peter shook his head. "Morgan's only sixteen and though he's a really nice guy and kind of a dad to all four of us, I'd rather face off Thanos than an angry Bucky Barnes. If Anya's on the field, it most certainly isn't with _my_ say-so."

Nicole laughed. "So, headed to Norway, then?"

Peter nodded.

"I'll come with you --"

"No, stay. Stay with your family. Drop in at HQ when spring break is over. That's when Shuri is leaving Wakanda."

Nicole considered it. "All right. Do you want me to find out where Cass is for you?"

"Can you?"

"Duh."

Peter smiled. "So cocky."

"That's only because you keep underestimating me. How long will you guys be staying, now?"

Peter shrugged again. "Maybe another day. I told Pep and Bucky I'd get the girls back before school starts up again, and Norway's not round the corner. so. . ."

"All right. I'll let my mom know. You wanna learn to fire an arrow?"

"No, thank you. I'll leave you to your talents, you leave me to mine."

"Okay, Spiderman," Nicole said with a laugh. She stood up and pushed the folder to Peter, who shook his head and pushed it back.

"Keep it. Don't let the rest of your family get their hands on it, though. This is confidential Sword information. I can't have the whole of Missouri's middle schools knowing about Sin."

"I'll keep it away from Nath," Nicole promised, picking the folder up when she stood.

A day and a half later, Nicole gave Peter a tight hug. "It was nice seeing you again, Parker. We should all go out for lunch sometime."

Peter smiled. "Maybe after we wrap up this problem of ours, we can all go out for a shawarma. I know a pretty good place."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll let you know when I find Cass."

"Okay. See you at Sword, kid," Peter said, dropping a kiss on Nicole's cheek.

"I'm only three years younger than you, Spiderman," Nicole said, rolling her eyes as Peter walked to the jet. "Hey, Parker!"

Peter stopped on the ramp of the jet.

"Just propose to MJ already!"

"I hate you all," Peter yelled while Harley closed the jet up, not giving either of them a chance to continue arguing.

Peter walked up to the front of the jet and tapped Morgan's arm. "You're in my seat, iron-child."

"Teach me to fly the jet."

"Maybe one day."

Morgan sighed and jumped off the seat. "I won't give you the key if you don't promise to teach me."

"That's clever, but I'm afraid your father's beaten you once again. The key doesn't start the jet, it's just a manual override so that Sword agents can use my jet." As he spoke, Peter pressed his palm against the scanner.

"Welcome, voice activation required."

"Parker," he told Friday with a smug smile at Morgan.

"Welcome, smallest Avenger."

Harley snorted.

"Shut up," Peter complained as he sat down and Morgan joined Anya, "I _was_ the smallest Avenger. Now, if the Valkyrie declines, I'll be the oldest Avenger."

"Oh how the turntables," Harley drawled, "to New Asgard, then, smallest Avenger."

Peter sighed as he fired up the engines. "I regret bringing you along."

* * *

"Your majes--"

"If you bow _one more time_ , I'm going to toss you into the water."

"I was only being polite."

"You're being patronising."

"Yeah, okay, I am."

The queen of Asgard gave the four siblings a smile. "Go and explore," she said, her gaze lingering on Morgan, "I think you'll really like the armoury."

"Watch them," Peter told Harley before following the Valkyrie.

"You know what's been haunting me the last eleven years?"

"Hm?"

"What's your name?"

"What's my _name_?"

"Yeah. Everyone calls you the Valkyrie, but I know that's not your name. It's like if everyone went around calling me Spiderman. Yeah, it's my name but it's not _my name_."

She smiled. "Brunnhilde," she said after a second, "but the other Valkyries used to call me Hilda. I'm still not sure if it was mockery or endearment but . . . it reminds me of them. What brings you to New Asgard?"

Peter glanced out at the docks and slipped his hands into his pocket. "The fight."

"Still running the frontlines, Peter?"

Peter shrugged. "I'm not really sure where I'm running, _Hilda_." He added her name with a light tone, shooting her a teasing grin.

"I'm going to regret telling you, aren't I?"

"Yep."

"Who are you up against?"

"A person -- or maybe even a group -- going by Sin. She took several agents out, and she wasn't truly even there. Hill gave me the green to re-instate the Avengers."

The Valkyrie turned to Peter, her eyebrows raised. "I don't think I'm fit for Avenging, Peter. I have a city to run, people to protect--"

"So do I," Peter said, turning to face her, "I have a city to protect too. I have the world to protect. I go where Sword sends me, and right now, Sword wants me here, fighting an enemy I don't know how to beat. I'm putting together a team. A team of people who know what happens when we don't have heroes, people who understand how dangerous being one can be, people I can trust to have my back when people like Sin are aiming for it. I know that Asgard comes first, but this is your planet too."

"I can't just leave the city unattended, Peter. I have a duty to it."

"I know," Peter mumbled, glancing down at the stone dock. "I know."

She sighed. "Make no mistake, if you are in dire need, I will drop Asgard like it's Hela and come save you. But to be a part of a team . . . not really my style."

Peter's phone beeped. He pulled it out and checked the message. "Guess I'll make a call if we're losing, then."

"Don't let it go _that_ far," she chided.

"I'd love to stay and chat, or let the girls spend a little time in Asgard, but my last recruit never stays in one place for long."

The Valkyrie, or Hilda as Peter would never stop calling her, nodded. "Treats for the road? Or the sky, rather."

"You don't understand how much it pains me to decline Asgardian wine, but I can't have it near the girls. Anya's legal, but she can't hold her alcohol and Morgan . . . let's not go there."

"Pity."

"Okay, one bottle won't hurt."

She smiled. "I thought so. Let's get you ready to go. Where are you going, by the way?"

Peter glanced at his phone again. "Thursday Island."

* * *

"We've been flying for over _fourteen_ hours!" Morgan grumbled.

"We drove for seventeen," Harley pointed out from across Anya.

Anya flicked a piece off the holographic board. "Checkmate."

"Oh, come on!"

Morgan snorted. "I had no idea you sucked so bad at chess, Harley."

"I'm distracted," he said defensively.

"No, you just suck. For someone who's got thirteen years more experience, you're pretty useless."

Harley shot Anya a glare. "Don't say things like that. It makes me feel old."

"How do you think my dad felt when he saw thirty candles on your cake last year?"

"Look, your dad has issues. He's like 120 years old, he shouldn't be surprised that he's feeling old."

"You call it issues, I call it extended lifespan."

"I call it interesting," Morgan said, sitting down on the side of the chessboard. "What else is interesting, is how Anya keeps winning."

"I use a variety of strategies -- and some blind movement sometimes."

"Okay, so how'd you win this one? I thought the queen was the most important piece."

"It is," Harley said, nodding.

"I used the endgame strategy. Especially because Harley never saw it coming. He thought he won."

"What's the endgame strategy?" Morgan asked.

"Where you sacrifice your most important piece on the board in order to win the game," Anya said, resetting the board. She flicked the queen on Harley's side and watching it flicker before regaining shape. "It's risky and doesn't always work, but when it does . . . you annihilate your opponent. They won't even stand a chance if you know what you're doing."

In the cockpit, Peter took a deep breath to calm himself down. Time healed, so he and everyone said, but once in a while, it would feel as if it was yesterday he'd listened as Tony Stark's heart slowly stopped beating. Time healed, but it could _never_ cover up the scars.

Satisfied with the answer, Morgan watched Anya win a few more games before they heard Peter speaking into his headset. "Sword Agent Parker, clearance level A. Authorization code, 236-723."

Morgan stood up and walked to the front. "Are we here?"

Peter nodded before pulling the bulky headphones off. "Karen, engage autopilot."

"Engaging 'Jesus, take the wheel' protocol."

Peter scoffed to himself as he activated his suit.

"What are you doing?" Morgan asked.

"Recruiting someone who really prefers to be invisible. Stay in the clouds, Karen."

"Of course, Peter."

None of the three got the chance to ask Peter what he was planning or who he was recruiting before Spiderman jumped off the jet. Karen closed the hatch and kept the jet steady.

"Karen, what's Peter doing?" Anya asked.

"Offering assistance."

"Does he need help?" Morgan asked.

"I will inform you if he does."

"Doesn't this thing have a surveillance system?" Harley asked, "can't we locate Peter?"

"I can."

They waited.

"Will you please?" Morgan said.

The chessboard was replaced with a hologram view of Spiderman attacking an armed group.

Down in the streets, Peter laughed. "I thought you could use the help, bumblebee."

"I thought I told you not to call me that."

Peter shrugged when Cassie Lang grew to her normal size and shot him a glare from behind her helmet. "I was doing fine on my own," she snapped before shrinking and zipping off to take down someone else.

"What are you even doing?"

"I'm recovering stolen Pym tech. The usual."

"In Australia, though?"

"I'm all over the world, Spiderman, and get out of my system."

"You can't kick Karen out of anything."

"Watch me," Cassie hissed, knocking out her final opponent.

Peter pulled his mask off and walked up to the woman that rapidly grew back to normal. "I need your help, Cass."

Not aware that Karen had linked up both Peter and Cass to the jet, Harley voiced his surprised. "CASSIE LANG?!"

Cassie's expression was a terrifying mix of pure surprise and blazing fury. "Is _Harley_ on your jet?"

"Oh, snap," Peter muttered, having forgotten about the pair's history.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cassie and harley huh?  
> and i oop--


	5. Chapter 5

Anya and Morgan had seen the insides of New Asgards's armoury, they'd even wielded some of the weapons, they'd driven seventeen hours, flown sixteen, played with things in the jet they wouldn't normally be allowed to touch and yet, they will forever claim that the _best_ part of Peter's recruitment trip was sitting in their hotel room and watching their oldest brother awkwardly try to avoid his ex-girlfriend while their second older brother awkwardly tried to talk to her.

Eventually, Peter sighed. "Hey, Harley, don't you want to take the girls to the beach?"

"Yes. Get your things."

Harley had never packed a bag faster in his life.

Peter sighed against and faceplanted the bed.

"How could you bring Harley and not warn either of us we'd be seeing each other?"

"I forgot!" Peter wailed.

"Convenient."

Peter rolled over and sat up. "Cass, I have bigger problems than your slightly strained relationship with my brother."

"Right, because MJ is still waiting --"

"I swear to Stark, if one more person mentions MJ, I'm going to _throw_ her at them."

Cassie folded her arms and sat down across Peter on the other bed. "I work better alone, Pete."

"True, but Earth has enemies we can't fight alone."

"I'm not coming to stay with you."

"Do I look like an idiot to you, Cassie? You'll stay at the tower with the others, or Hill can get you a bunk at Sword. Besides, Harley's swamped at Stark Industries. Pepper's constantly training him. Look, if I didn't have to, I wouldn't have had Nic track you down. I know you're happy off on your own devices, working within your family as some vigilante level of heroism. You know I'd never pull you from them without reason."

Cassie studied Peter for a moment before sighing. "What do you want from me?"

"Just you. I need your help. I already have Nic and Shuri on board. I dropped by at New Asgard, but her majesty's shying from the fight. I don't blame her. I went through tons of possible candidates and I narrowed it down to you guys. I don't need strangers from Sword, I need teammates I can count on even if we happen to be losing."

"What would I be up against?"

"We don't know yet. All we know is that her name's Sin and she's beyond our capabilities. I could never take her on alone. Come on, Cass, I need you."

"Fine! I'll do it. But you owe me, Parker."

"Anything."

"Help me prank the shit out of Harley."

"Anything but that," Peter amended.

"What, scared of a little prank war?"

Peter shook his head. "Scared of Pepper."

"That's fair. Okay, when do we begin?"

Peter smiled. "As soon as the girls get back to school. Stick it out and ride with your ex back to New York?"

Cass narrowed her eyes. "I want co-pilot."

"I will ask Harley," Peter said nodding, "but I'll see you in the tower?"

Cassie nodded. "Yeah."

* * *

Morgan threw a fit for at least half an hour. Eventually, Peter and Anya managed to wrestle her into the car, and when they arrived outside the school, Anya dragged Morgan out. She was upset that she wouldn't be witnessing the team meet up. Peter understood, but she had school to attend.

Peter no longer even needed to flash his badge as he entered the facility, smiling at the morning security guard.

"Mr Parker. There's a group of visitors milling around with access codes from you."

Peter nodded. "I called them in. Any idea where I might find them?"

"Scattered," the old man said, shaking his head, "I got no clue."

"Right. Thanks anyway, Stan."

"Anytime, Mr Parker."

Peter slipped his hands into the pockets of his pants as he walked through Sword, heading towards the Director's office. He wasn't even surprised to see Fury spin around in the chair. "Spiderman! So _good_ to see you."

"Where's Hill?" Peter asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Out."

"You're lying."

"True. She's in the back."

Peter walked to the door in the corner and knocked on it. "Hill?"

"Yeah?"

"Do I still have the main boardroom?"

"Yeah."

"Thank you."

Peter gave Fury a wave as he left, pulling his phone from his pocket and forwarding directions to the boardroom to each one of his new teammates. Then he decided to stop for a coffee.

"Good morning," Shuri said when she entered, being the last to arrive -- Peter aside.

There was a lazy chorus of "Morning," from Nicole and Cassie.

"Is it just the three of us?"

Nicole shrugged. "Pete said he was gonna pay the Valkyrie a visit. I'm not sure how that turned out."

"I assume it didn't go as planned," Cassie said, rolling a lipstick tube around on the table.

Shuri sat down as well. "I'm surprised he didn't seek out anyone else."

"Yeah, he was all about finding people he could trust. I feel like Peter developed some trust issues over the years."

Nicole scoffed at Cassie. "I could've told you that years ago."

"What are even up against?" Cassie asked. "Do we know for sure?"

"What we're up against," Peter said as he walked in, kicking the door closed and dropping an empty styrofoam cup in the bin, "is a bitch of a problem. She calls herself Sin, and has so far demonstrated the ability to physically harm agents by simply hacking us and taking control of droids that should not have been able to be overtaken. She also tried to get into the minds of some of our agents, but we managed to flush her out before she succeeded. The Peak has intel on what they believe she is. Karen, please."

Peter gestured to the hologram in the centre of the table. "That's what the Peak says she looks like. I don't know if this is reliable, considering it's dated in the twenties. We may be dealing with something that ages differently, or a supersoldier gone wrong. We don't know what she wants and we don't know what she's stolen. Nic, that's on you."

Nicole nodded when Peter pointed at her.

"Shuri, I want you on weapons development. Karen will give you access to all the data I have on Sin. Everything Sword has to offer is at your disposal. You too, Nic. I assume you'll be able to create something effective against Sin, should we run into her?"

Shuri nodded to Peter.

"Cass, you and I are on high alert. Notice _anything_ and you bring it to my attention. I want to take this bitch down before she hatches her grand plan." 

"You mean she hasn't yet?" Nicole asked.

Peter shook his head. He glanced at the holographic clips of Sin striking in other cities. "Some Peak files say she's the next Titan, others say she's _the_ demon manifested. I personally think she's just another enemy I need to take down, but not alone. Sin is a priority for us, but don't overwork yourselves. I'd rather have half the intel and you guys sharp on the field, than have all the intel and none of you walking with your eyes open. You'll all be staying on your usual floors at the Tower until we catch Sin, but you're more than welcome to come up to the top. The girls won't mind seeing you guys, and I think Pep might murder me if I don't formally invite you all to dinner every night. Clear on your tasks regarding Sin?"

The three women nodded.

"Perfect. I'll see you all wh--" Peter's phone rang.

"Incoming call from MJ," Karen told them all.

"Answer it," Peter said, fiddling with his watch.

" _Date. Tonight. Delmar's. Dress up._ " MJ ended the call before Peter could even say hello to her. He nodded to himself before addressing the three women in front of him. "I'll see you all when shit hits the fan," he finished his earlier statement. With that, Peter gave them all a wave and left, dropping his sunglasses back over his eyes.

Back in the director's office, Nick and Maria watched the camera footage. "Is it just me," Fury said, "or does he remind you of Stark?"

"It's just you," Hill said, dismissing Peter's blatant Tony-like behaviour.

* * *

Peter chuckled when he pushed the door open and took in the scene before him. MJ was seated at one of the two indoor tables Delmar's had, smiling slightly. Both tables were covered with black tablecloths that swept the floor with the slight breeze that followed Peter. The other was pushed to the corner, and a radio sat on top, flanked by two tall glasses that had about two or three flowers each.

On the table MJ sat at, was another tall glass that contained one rose and a tealight candle. A sandwich sat in her plate and in the plate across hers was an unopened, flattened sandwich. Delmar himself stood in front of the table dressed as a waiter, holding a tray with two wine glasses and a bottle of wine Peter was sure MJ bought.

"What is all this?" Peter asked, a smile tugging his lips as he walked over to the chair Delmar pulled out.

"Anniversary dinner," MJ said, "I figured ten years is a pretty major date."

"Of course. You know, we could've gone somewhere fancy. You didn't have to trouble Delmar."

"Shut up," Delmar said, "I closed early for this. Wine?"

Peter smiled. "Thank you."

"I'm proud of you, Peter. Your tie is done properly."

Peter's smile turned sheepish. "Harley tied it."

MJ grinned. "I knew it was too good to be true. How'd the first team meeting go?"

Delmar disappeared after pouring the wine.

"It was good."

"Think you'll be able to put Sin away? Or down, whatever."

Peter shrugged.

"I think you will. Each of you has your own unique skill set, and together, you'll be unstoppable. The Avengers will bow down to you."

Peter laughed. "Wow. That's a nice dream."

"You could make it a reality."

"I thought we agreed no work talk during dates," Peter teased.

"Your work is your life, Peter."

"Then you talk. Tell me about your day."

"My parcel arrived just in time today," MJ said with a smile.

"The super expensive secret online purchase that Pepper approved behind my back, that I only found out about because you left the invoice on the bed?"

"That's the one. I was worried it wouldn't arrive today."

"Do I get to finally find out what it is?"

"Patience, Mr Parker. Eat your food."

A while later, when there were just the wrappers left in their plates, Peter's laughter was cut short by the sound of a camera shutter.

"Sorry," Delmar said to MJ.

"What's that for?"

"Photo albums," MJ said, "Anya isn't the only one that likes them. Look, we've been officially dating for ten years, Peter, and I love you now more than I have ever loved you before. I chose Delmar's because right here, in this exact spot, ten years ago, you asked me out on an official date. It took you ten minutes to get the question right."

"I remember," Peter said, hiding his face behind his hands.

"We were ordering food here on my lunch break when you asked me to move in with you. It was a little easier than asking me out, apparently, because it only took you five minutes.

"I know you love this place, but it's special to me too. We made like seventy percent of my favourite memories in here or over one of these sandwiches."

Peter smiled. "MJ, I--"

"Oh, look! Dessert is here!"

Peter turned around to see Delmar holding a tray that carried two tiny cups of ice cream and a wrapped box the size of the cups.

"That's the super expensive secret," MJ said, already starting with her ice cream as Delmar set the box down in front of Peter.

"This says 'to MJ, P.S. I love you' on the tag."

MJ nodded. "Yeah, it's your gift to me. I couldn't trust you to choose something sane so I bought it myself. Delmar, where's his speech?"

While the old man handed Peter and envelope, MJ took the box and began peeling the wrapper off. More than prepared to entertain MJ, Peter opened the page and made a big show of clearing his throat.

"MJ," he read of the paper, holding it as if it were a proclamation from a king, "the past ten years have been a rollercoaster of love and laughter -- mostly you laughing at Spiderman's early days, which means most of the love is from me." Peter paused and looked up at MJ. "You're insane."

"Do continue," she said, not yet opening the box.

Peter cleared his throat again and resumed his dramatic reading. "You were there for me when I was at my lowest, and you were one who kicked my ass hard enough to --" Peter started to laugh. MJ narrowed her eyes, but anyone could see she wasn't really annoyed. "Sorry. Hard enough to take the helping had everyone around me had outstretched, and to reach out to help my family. Ten years is a really long time to spend with someone, so if you managed this long, I don't think it'll be much of an issue if. . ." Peter stopped reading for a moment, scanning the rest of the page as his expression slowly showed nothing but confusion.

He looked up from the end of MJ's little speech to see her admiring a ring on her finger. "What?" she asked, defensive. "You were taking too long."

Peter's jaw dropped. "Hey, that's not fair!"

"Oh, by the way, the answer's yes."

Peter dropped his head on the table. "I've failed," he wailed, "love is a race and I _lost_!"

MJ laughed. "Oh, it's not that bad."

"It _is_!" Peter cried, dragging the word out until it became a melodramatic sob.

"I'll let you plan the wedding."

"Done." Peter picked up the page. "Let me finish this anyway, seeing as you so rudely opened the box early."

"My mistake. Wait, here."

MJ pulled the ring off her finger and shoved it back in the box before giving it to Peter. "Continue with your dramatic reading of my clever words."

Peter continued, back to dramatically enacting the words on the page. When he was done, Peter asked her to close her eyes. To the great amusement of Delmar, Peter hung upside down from the ceiling, his face right in front of MJ's. 

MJ didn't think she had ever laughed as hard as she did when she opened her eyes to see the ring she had bought stuck to Peter's nose. "This is your last chance to say no."

"As if. I'd marry you even if I didn't love you as much as I do. You're the most important thing in my life."

Peter fell from the webbing, crashing into the table. "You made me lose focus with your pretty face!" 

MJ smiled and sipped from her wine glass -- which she had snatched out of the way when she saw Peter fall. "Pete?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

"Thank you. WAIT NO -- I MEAN I LOVE YOU TOO."

MJ laughed. She was sure no one she knew had ever had a better proposal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yass my girl MJ taking control 
> 
> also "Love is a race and I lost" is genuinely one of the funniest things I have ever read send help im losing braincells


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's that rewrite of the Soldier and his Widow post-credit scene I mentioned

Cassie was in the lab at Sword, working out minor bugs in her suit -- for some reason, she wasn't resizing as fast as she used to. On the other side of the lab, Shuri was reading up on the files Nicole had sent her on Sin. In the back, Nicole was sitting slouched in the chair with her feet up beside the clear monitor. One hand in a bowl of popcorn, the other navigating Sword records with the trackball. Muted music filled the lab as the three of them worked. They were currently on Cassie's playlist, listening to something that would probably sound a lot more violent if it were louder. Despite the disorganised mess between the three, the lab was calm. 

Over in the topmost floor of the tower, chaos reigned. 

Chaos reigned _violently_.

Peter Parker was trying his level best to focus, but it wasn't helping when his legal guardians were screaming at each other. Something about an Iron Man tie. Harley crossed the floor, shooting Peter a grin and a wave. Peter sighed and debated slamming his laptop closed around his head.

"Have you seen Pep's tie? She's just about ready to commit murder."

As if on cue, they heard Pepper's voice from somewhere else on the penthouse floor. "May Parker, I swear to God, if James lost that tie, I'll do something illegal!"

"Let's do it, then," May shouted back, "I know the law!"

"I _am_ the law!" Pepper screeched, quickly followed by, "JAMES!"

Peter and Harley turned their heads to the other side.

"WHAT?!"

Before any of the three could continue screaming, Morgan ran across the floor. "I found the tie! I found the tie!"

"I'm so tempted to go find my old place in Queens to work," Peter mumbled.

"You have the rest of your career on a silver platter, Mr Agent of the Year, for like the past five years or more. I wouldn't fret about one small task if I were you."

Peter rolled his eyes as Harley tied his tie in the reflection of the full-length windows. "So do you, Mr acting and soon-to-be CEO of Stark Industries."

"Jealous?" Harkey asked with a smirk.

"As if. I have enough on my plate worrying about global -- and otherworldly -- threats as well as Morgan's lack of self-control and Anya's inexplicable need to snoop in my files. I _really_ don't need a day job."

"Spiderman _is_ your day job, Petey."

Peter shrugged. "Whatever. The point is, I think we're all glad you're Pep's successor. Maybe one day when she's old enough, you can pass it to Morgan. But right now . . . she's got to get through her teenage years first. God, was I this troublesome?"

"Yes," May said as she walked into the room, smoothing down her pencil skirt. "Pepper! You're running a tight schedule!"

"I was not."

"Peter, when you were sixteen, you ran off to Germany to fight a battle you didn't even know that much about."

Peter opened his mouth, then shut it again. Harley grinned.

May nodded. "May knows best."

Pepper slid into the room in her stockinged feet, shoes in hand and a bunch of keys in the other. "Where's James?"

May took the keys from Pepper. "I'll tell him to get the car ready. Put your shoes on. We're going to make it in time, relax."

"May, you're a lifesaver."

Anya walked out of the elevator. "Dad says you'll be leaving through the back garage. There's a horde of reporters at the front, all waiting to get a statement from Stark Industries' resigning and new CEOs."

May nodded and left in search of Bucky.

Harley walked up to Pepper and helped her pin her hair down. In the last eleven years, everyone in the family had become hair experts. Pepper and May were often gone early to keep Stark Industries running, which meant someone had to do the girls' hair. With Bucky regularly driving the women to work and then heading off to his own small job -- with Sam Wilson, no less -- the task more often than not fell to Peter or Harley. Both were now qualified hair stylists.

By the time Pepper had put her shoes on, Harley had perfectly styled her hair.

"Calm down, Pep, it's just a press conference. You've done hundreds before."

"Not like this!" Pepper cried.

"You'll be fine. Just don't do anything Mr Stark would've."

"That's very helpful, Harley."

"Laying the sarcasm on a bit thick there, Pep," May said, adjusting her own suit as she caught a glance of her reflection. "Does the skirt make me look fat?"

"You look fine, Aunt May," Harley said, fixing Pepper's tie. "Here, let me tie yours, too."

"Thank you, Harley."

Pepper pulled out a lipstick tube from her purse and handed it to May. "Here, it matches your shirt."

"Really?"

Bucky appeared in the doorway. "Chop-chop, ladies! We're running a tight schedule! Tie faster, Harley!"

Morgan snorted. "Your dad just said 'chop-chop' to an actual living human."

Anya sighed. "He does things like that sometimes."

"Look, if you want me to strangle Aunt May," Harley said as he finished tying May's tie, "you could've just said so."

"Everyone out!" Bucky yelled, pointing the door. "God, you act like I'm your driver or something."

"You are," Harley said as he passed, "you offered."

"He's right, you know," May said, following.

Pepper was nearly out the door when she remembered something. "Peter?!"

"Yeah?" Peter leaned into view from where he had been sitting and watching the chaos unravel.

"Watch the girls. Love you, bye!"

"Love you too, Pep."

"Bye, Pep!" Anya called.

"Have fun, mom!"

Once the door closed behind the three, Peter stood up and closed his laptop. "Rooftop dodgeball? The extreme level, of course. I know I'm supposed to pretend like I never caught you, but you can wear your suits and we'll see who's the best."

"Yes!" both girls cried, bouncing off the couch.

While Morgan and Anya raced to their bedroom, Peter walked on slowly to his own. As he left, he caught sight of the display in the centre of the main room.

Pepper and Bucky had long decided to put away their suits and focus on, A) looking after their odd array of children and B) running Stark Industries. It was a decision set in stone after Pepper turned fifty. Well, to be fair, it should be all credited to May, who had interrupted dinner one evening to tell Bucky and Pepper that she simply could not handle trying to reign in four children that had the tendency to do wild and mildly dangerous things.

While Harley was no superior-level genius, he had a kind smile and way with words everyone else seemed to lack in comparison. He quickly became the new face of Stark Industries, one of many inspired by Tony Stark to become something great. Of course, he was a total disaster behind the scenes, even at thirty-one.

Nearing a conventional retirement age, Pepper had decided to resign -- on paper only. The press conference was to officially introduce Harley Keener as the new CEO of Stark Industries. May, appointed Pepper's PA days after she unintentionally proved more than capable of filling in the shoes Pepper had worn so very many years ago, was there to keep Harley from doing something Tony would've done.

Bucky wanted to tag along, mainly to give Harley and the two women a thumbs up when they were up in front of all the reporters. He offered to drive them all to the office because all three seemed to be on edge for this particular event.

That left twenty-seven-year-old Peter Parker to babysit. In the eyes of a parent, he was the absolute worst.

Exhibit A would be his suggestion of extreme dodgeball.

Peter smiled at the display. Standing front and centre was Tony's nano-tech suit. On the left was the Rescue armour Pepper had retired from. The Captain America shield hung on the wall between the suits. On the right of Tony's suit was the Iron Spider suit specifically designed for Peter.

"Karen."

"Yes, Peter?"

"Don't _ever_ delete the Iron Dad folder."

"Of course."

Peter hurried to catch up with Morgan and Anya, mask in hand.

"Looks nice," Morgan commented.

"Thanks. Some genius I know improved my old suit."

"What a clever genius."

"Enough with the self-praise," Anya cut in, bouncing the rubber ball, "who's ready to get their ass handed to them?"

"You?" Peter asked, shooting Anya a smirk before pulling his mask on.

"Friday," Morgan said, her helmet covering up her wicked grin, "drop my needle."

_**~~||~~** _

"PETER!" Morgan shrieked as she tumbled over the edge of the building.

"Hold on!" Peter swung by, snatching Morgan seconds before her grip failed and the pair crashed through the floor-to-ceiling windows in time to see Anya fly into the display he had been looking at hours ago. Thankfully, the glass held and the most damage Anya received was the force of hurling into it.

Morgan stood up and hit her left foot on the ground several times. "Friday?"

"Thrusters critically damaged."

"What do we do?" Morgan asked, running up to help Peter pick Anya off the floor.

"I don't know."

"You're the oldest!" Anya cried.

"Not mentally!"

"Okay, everyone stop panicking," Morgan said, pulling something off from behind her ear. Her damaged suit seemed to peel off her body. "Where did the bastard go?"

Anya shook her head, manually tearing the broken pieces off her own suit off to reveal the pyjamas she had been wearing underneath. "I don't know. He -- she -- _it_ vanished when you crashed through the window."

Peter glanced at the glass. "Yeah, Pep's gonna kill us."

"If we survive, you mean," Morgan muttered, opening her school bag and scratching around for a moment. "Did either of you take my prototype collection? Nevermind, found it."

Opening a little black case, Morgan handed Anya a device that looked a lot like Clint's hearing aids. "I've been working on these for two years. Shuri gave me the idea when Peter took us to visit Wakanda back then. They're kind of stored and activated like the Black Panther suits, but instead of Vibranium, they're nano-tech, like my dad's suit. They also work like it."

Anya slipped the device into her ear, and the back end seemed to magnetically attach itself to her head.

"I have one for you too, Peter, but the suit's nothing more than a design. It _is_ connected to the Iron Spider suit though. . ."

"Good enough," Peter said, glancing at the rips in his own suit. "Thank you."

Whatever had attacked them on the rooftop, the thing Anya had chased back inside, appeared with a pop and flourish of pale smoke. Peter recognised the suited up woman from the Peak files.

"Get --" Peter's warning was cut short as all three were blasted back. When the smoke cleared, the three stood in their fully formed suits, the model on the right of Tony's suit empty, the glass decorating the floor around them.

Anya nodded at the white suit. "Nice."

"You're welcome. So, Peter. How do we do the whole superhero thing?"

"Well, mainly, you try not to die." Peter fired webs to their attacker, trying to web her up.

"Hello again, Anya."

Anya turned to Morgan. "You loaded Virgil into my suit?"

"Into your neural device and the main system," Morgan corrected, "she's friends with Friday and Karen."

"What a genius," Anya mumbled, focusing her attention on the figure walking towards them.

"Where is the one they call Stark?"

Peter and Anya subconsciously covered Morgan up.

"He died saving the universe eleven years ago," Peter said.

The woman raised the blade in her hand and pointed between the pair. "I want what _she_ has."

"And what is that?" Morgan asked, stepping forward despite Anya and Peter's unwillingness to move.

"I want what's working so hard in that head of yours."

"Why?" Anya asked, "what for?"

"Wouldn't you little children like to know. I shan't tell. Give me the girl and you live."

Anya narrowed her eyes, her helmet forming as she whipped out her mother's electroshock batons. "You'll die before you touch my sister."

"Who are you?" Peter asked.

"Some call me a witch, others a miracle. You can call me Sin."

Anya was quick, knocking her father's shield from its hook and using it to protect all three from Sin's blast.

"Hold tight," Peter said, grabbing Anya around her waist. "Morgan, if you will?"

Morgan fired a blast of her own at Sin, then at the chandelier May and Pepper had specifically chosen. In the chaos, Peter fled with Anya, Morgan close behind.

"Where are we going?" Morgan asked once her helmet had completely covered her head.

"Away from Sin."

Unfortunately, they didn't get very far. Dodging an attack from Sin, all three crashed into a billboard in Time's Square. Morgan and Peter managed to not hit the ground, and Anya used the shield to break her fall. If the hole in the billboard didn't grab enough attention, the sound of Captain America's shield hitting the tar did.

Sin prepared another attack, but something threw her off her hoverboard.

"What part of 'take a break' didn't you understand, Parker?"

Peter smiled after helping Anya up. His mask moved back and he gave a ridiculous bow. "I thought I left you in a lab, princess."

Shuri rolled her eyes behind the Black Panther mask. "I modified your web shooters."

Anya and Morgan both jumped, the latter letting out a short scream when someone appeared on Peter's other side. "Need a hand?"

"Cass! You got your suit working again!"

"Yeah, um, why are the children here?" Cassie asked, her helmet snapping off.

"I'm _eighteen_ ," Anya stated, dusting dirt and glass off the shield now firmly attached to her arm.

"Child," Shuri said, shrugging.

"You pathetic excuse of a babysitter," Cassie muttered, giving Peter a slight shove.

"That's fair, but I had to get them out of the house. Sin--"

Sin reared her head just then, roaring like an animal. The five of them jumped as a somewhat damaged ship barreled right into Sin. With the ship out of commission, the Valkyrie sauntered over.

"Your majesty," Peter greeted politely, "are you drunk?"

"Very. Who did I run over?"

"A villain," Morgan answered, "I wouldn't worry."

Of course, that seemed to do nothing to stop Sin.

"It's like fighting an immortal," Anya grumbled.

"I am Sin and I--"

"And you can shut up."

Morgan cheered as an arrow soared overhead, catching Sin in the middle of her chest. The rest watched Cassie and the archer do their own handshake. It reminded Peter of his and Ned's own handshake. "Good to see you away from that computer Parker put in front of you, Nic," Cassie said.

"Shut up, Cass," Nicole said, pulling her mask off. "She's the one who attacked the Stark-Barnes-Parker household, right?"

Peter nodded to the question directed at him. "Yeah, but she doesn't seem to want to stay dead. Speaking of --" Peter broke off and gestured to Sin, who stood up and yanked the arrow from her chest.

Nicole nocked another arrow and drew back on the string, stepping in line with Shuri, who raised her blasters -- now made small enough to wear around her wrist but twice as powerful as the first. Cass unfolded her helmet and prepared to physically fight Sin. Morgan and Anya pushed forward as their own helmets reformed, Anya kneeling in front of Morgan with the shield up, her mother's gun resting on the top, Morgan aiming her palms at Sin.

"Who _the hell_ are you?" Sin snarled, taking a step forward.

That small action of Sin's caused a chain reaction. Nicole drew the arrow back as far as it could. Both Shuri and Morgan fired up their blasters. Cassie dropped into a stance, ready to shrink and sprint for Sin, while her insect-like wings prepared for flight. Anya cocked her gun and braced her shield for impact. The Valkyrie fell over on the side. And behind them all, Peter stood tall.

 _Sin_ _didn't stand a chance_.


	7. Chapter 7

They wrapped up the scene in a matter of minutes, but not because they had defeated Sin. She had fled Times Square. Morgan and Anya cheered their 'victory', but the others shared a worried glance. They knew Sin had left by her own choice -- and they knew Sin wasn't one to surrender. The decision to flee both stumped and worried them.

Nicole hit the training mat with a deafening thud.

"Thing is," Cassie said, stepping away, "no one I know heals that fast."

Nicole bounced back onto her feet. "I went through old Sword records, old Shield records, the ancient SSR files, and even any _Hydra_ files we have, and there's no record of any human exhibiting such a quick healing factor."

The two girls brought their fists up and bounced on their toes for a moment before Nicole struck. "I had Hill fix a line with Carol, and even _she_ says she doesn't know a species that can survive both being rammed down by a rattling Warsong and a direct hit to what should be a heart."

Cassie knocked Nicole down again. "Focus, Nic, you're off balance. Unless Peter was right about the supersoldier thing."

Nicole lay on the mat for a second. "Can't be. The SSR would've made note if Rogers exhibited a healing factor of that scale."

Cassie blocked Nicole's attacks for a few more seconds until Nicole managed to flip her over. She squinted at the lights. "Unless it wasn't documented. Unless it wasn't even the SSR. We don't have all the Hydra files. A lot of it was lost to protect it. Peter himself said that photo was dated to the twenties. What if Sin comes from a time before Hydra made headlines?"

Nicole moved away to give Cassie room to bounce back. "That would make Sin about ninety to a hundred years old, though."

"It's not entirely unbelievable," Cassie said, motioning for Nicole to attack again. "If Captain America and the Winter Soldier could do it . . . what's stopping Sin? If that's the case, then we know she's a genetically enhanced human."

"Which means she _can_ die," Nicole said, lurching forward. Cassie tapped out of Nicole's chokehold when she couldn't break free.

"There _is_ the part where you shot her through the heart and she just pulled the arrow out."

"Severely enhanced, then," Nicole said.

"Which makes her a volatile target."

"And highly unstable."

"But we just need to find a weak spot."

"Oh, like yours?" Nicole asked, flashing Cassie a smirk and grabbing her arm, hurling her across the training area.

"I was _distracted_ ," Cassie defended.

"Still a win for me, Lang."

"Shut your face, Barton."

"Ladies," Peter sang, walking in, "I have news."

"So do we," Cassie said, getting up, "meet at the tower, twenty minutes, okay? Nic and I gotta get cleaned up and Shuri's already there."

"I -- okay, fine," Peter said as the two passed by him.

"Don't let her open the pizza without us," Nicole added.

* * *

"Where's Pete?" Cassie asked as she joined Shuri and Nicole at the table, rubbing a towel against her head.

"Beer run," Shuri said, tossing her empty can into the trash. " _Yeet_ ," she mumbled under her breath. "Oh, and he's trying to make Brunnhilde sleep off her drunk."

"Nic, I almost forgot. You gotta stop flirting with Peter."

"Why?" Nicole asked, eyes twinkling, "you jealous?"

"I didn't say stop flirting with _everyone_ , I said stop flirting with _Peter_."

Shuri raised her eyebrows. "So you _are_ jealous, but not _of_ _Peter_."

"What? No! I'm just saying you gotta stop making the poor guy so flustered. MJ called a few days ago to talk and _all_ we talked about was how Peter blushes like a schoolboy in front of his crush whenever anyone so much as compliments him. Why would I have a crush on _Peter_?"

"My bad," Shuri said, "I was thinking of the wrong brother."

"Oh _come on_. That is _so_ unfair."

Nicole smirked at Cassie, spinning her half-empty beer can. "Oh, yeah. You wouldn't go for Peter after banging his brother."

Cassie narrowed her eyes at both of them. "This is why I call MJ more often than I call you. I should call her right now, just so I don't have to talk to either of you."

"You don't have to do that," Nicole said, "I can be _great_ company."

Cassie rolled her eyes. "While you're at it, you can stop flirting with _me_ too."

"Why? Does it confuse you beyond verbal responses?"

Shuri snorted, lifting the papers she was going through to hide her face.

"No," Cassie said, leaning towards Nicole, "but it makes me want to get physical."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I get vivid flashes of punching you in the face."

Nicole rolled her eyes. "Way to ruin the mood, Cass. I was warming up. I was gonna throw a heavy one on Parker when gets back. Hey, speak of the devil!" Nicole cried, a wide smile on her face.

"Great," Cassie said as Peter set down a tray of six cans and two pizza boxes, "everyone's here. So, Nic and I were talking earlier, and we came to the conclusion that Sin must be Hydra, from somewhere in the twenties."

Shuri grabbed a slice of pizza, setting her papers aside. "I was looking through the records, trying to see if there was any common weak spot in Sin's appearances, and I think you might be right. I was beginning to think Sin might be a group like Hydra, given that there are accounts dating back to the twenties but . . . they all say the same thing. A woman, about twenty to thirty years old, faster and stronger than most. What we saw up close today, I think it fits that description."

"What news did you have?" Nicole asked Peter, opening one of the cans.

"Oh, I was just gonna tell y'all I got engaged."

After approximately three seconds of silence, all hell broke loose.

"YOU WHAT?"

"Wait! When did this happen?"

"What took you so long to say?!"

"I thought it would never happen!"

"I'm so proud of you!"

"You finally proposed to MJ!"

Peter lifted his hand. "I didn't propose to MJ," he said, shaking his head.

"Say wha. . ." Nicole said.

Cassie frowned. "Wait . . . what?"

All three stared at Peter, frowning. Then Shuri shook her head and reached over to smack the back of Peter's. "You are such an ass, Parker."

"I have done nothing wrong ever."

"Ohhhh," Cassie said, "I knew it was too good to be true. _MJ_ proposed to _you_! That makes so much sense."

"That stings, bumblebee."

Nicole slapped Peter's arm repeatedly. "You had me so worried!"

Peter grinned. "I know."

"What did the girls say?" Cassie asked.

Peter pulled up his sleeve to show them the bruises on his right arm. "Anya clung to me like glue for about half an hour. I was afraid she was gonna bite me at one stage. Morgan took it a little better. She just threatened to physically fight Harley to be my best man. I told them Ned already claimed it. They both said they're going to fight Ned."

"As expected, then," Shuri said, nodding.

"And the parents?" Nicole asked.

"Pep almost cried and hugged me for the same thirty minutes Anya was hanging on my arm. May somehow managed to find poppers to burst and let Morgan have champagne. Bucky laughed for twenty minutes at the fact that MJ beat me to it."

"I'm really happy for you," Shuri said, getting up to hug Peter, "it's about damn time."

"Group hug!" Nicole exclaimed, pulling Cassie along and the three of them squashed Peter between them.

"Wait--!" Peter cried, going ignored as the three of them ended up tackling him to the ground. Anya and Morgan stole a pizza box and two beer cans before any of the four noticed.

* * *

"Tell me again what she was like."

Morgan flopped down on her bed. "She was amazing. I saw her in action exactly once. My mom asked her to keep it away from me, which was understandable, considering I was like four. She was like a ballerina. Graceful as anyone could be with a gun in her hand."

Anya sighed, leaning back on her own pillows. "Wow."

"You remind me of her a little."

"Really?"

Anya turned to look at Morgan. The younger girl nodded.

"I see you, training. I don't know for what, but I see you. I know I was really little when I saw her, but . . . you look just like her. Perfect posture. Maybe not a ballerina, but as good a dancer as any. I feel like you'd pirouette your way across a battlefield."

"Just straight up _arabesque_ Sin in the _face_ ," Anya said with a grin.

Morgan giggled. "Now, _that's_ a sight I'd wanna see."

There was a knock at the door. Before Bucky opening it, both girls kicked their stolen -- and thankfully empty -- beer cans off their beds. They smiled innocently.

"Time for bed, girls."

Anya sighed. " _Fine_ ," she grumbled kicking down the covers and flopping back on the bed. Morgan rolled her eyes and got under her covers.

Bucky smiled and walked over to grab the pizza box from the small nightstand between their beds. "And _go to sleep_. You have school tomorrow."

"Yes, sir!" Morgan said, chuckling to herself.

Bucky leaned down to give each girl a kiss on her forehead.

"Night, dad."

"Night, Bucky."

Bucky smiled. "Sleep tight, girls," he said before flicking the light off and closing the door again.

He walked into the kitchen, tossing the empty box in the bin. "Where's Peter?"

"Downstairs with his new team," Pepper said, handing a cup of hot cocoa to may. "Cocoa?"

"So, the girls both look terrible, well hidden, though. Anya's got this big ugly bruise on her calf and I'm eighty-eight percent sure I saw a huge plaster cross her back. Morgan's got scratches up her arm and a new plaster over her eyebrow. Also, is that window shinier than the rest?"

"Yeah, about that," Harley said, turning away from a screen, "one of them had to have done a minor override on Friday, which explains why we weren't notified. The window gave it away. It looked new, so I tried to find out if one of you replaced a pane of glass recently, turns out, Peter's new enemy brought the fight home."

Harley held up a small tablet and the four of them watched the fight between Sin and the siblings go down.

" _PETER_!!"

Downstairs, Peter froze. "Karen, how much trouble am I in?"

"Too much."

* * *

"In my defence --"

"You were in _Times Square_ , Peter!" May cried.

"Now, Aunt May, that's really not the point. Look, I never expected Sin to attack the tower. If I had--"

"Sin?" Pepper repeated, frowning, "I thought Sin was an _organisation_."

"So did I," Peter said, sitting down at the table, "until she attacked the tower. I would never knowingly put the girls at risk, Pep, you _know_ that."

"I know," Pepper said softly, nodding

"Look, Sin is a problem that I'm _trying_ to handle. I know next to nothing about her. Cass, Shuri and Nic are trying their hardest to help me get rid of Sin. I know she's bad news and I know the girls are in danger, but they're safest here."

"That's what scares us, Pete," May said, "we know this is the safest place for them -- for any of us. But Sin still managed to get in. This place may not be as safe as we thought."

"If not here then where?" Peter asked.

"He's right," Bucky said, pushing away from the wall and joining them at the table. "We stay here, and . . . do what we can to keep the girls safe. We already know this Sin or whatever is after Morgan, so we keep her safe. She's got those suits she keeps playing with. Activate them. All of them. Set up sentries all around her. She'll feel better if they're _hers_ , though."

"She has Anya too," Pepper said, glancing at Bucky, "that girl trains like she has a war to fight. If I trust anyone with Morgan, it's her."

"Anya and Morgan are a packaged deal," May said, "where one goes, the other follows. Morgan's even planning to apply to whatever college Anya goes to. They're safest together, even if they're alone."

"They won't be," Peter said, "myself aside, all of Sword will be watching them and keeping an eye out for Sin. We will get her, and we'll keep Morgan safe. I won't let anything happen to my sister. Just trust me."

"All right, Peter," Pepper said, "we won't come in your way. Just . . . look out for yourself too. We love you and want you safe just as much as the girls and your brother."

Peter nodded. "I gotta get to Sword early tomorrow so . . . I'll drop the girls off at school on my way."

"Pete, Sword and the school are in--"

Bucky put his hand on May's shoulder, shaking his head.

"Thank you, Peter," he said, "don't forget them tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Mhm. Goodnight, guys. Love you."

"Love you too, Pete," Pepper said, kissing the top of his head before leaving. May followed suit. Bucky waited until they were gone before leaning towards Peter. "Look after yourself too, Peter. And if you really need it, if this Sin turns out to be a bigger threat than you thought, we will help you. We'll always be there for you, okay?"

Peter nodded. "Thanks, Bucky."

"Anytime, kid. Don't stay up too late."

"Mhm."

Bucky left Peter in the dining hall, wandering to the girls' room to check on them before he too went to bed. He pushed the door open. Morgan slept soundly, facing the wardrobe. Anya tossed and turned.

"Mamma," she whispered.

Bucky started towards her, but Morgan turned over, reaching out over the nightstand for her sister. Morgan grunted in her sleep, searching for Anya's hand.

After a second more, Anya reached out for her sister.

Both girls quieted and stilled as they slept, tightly holding to each other's hand. Bucky smiled as he closed the door. He was really glad Pepper had forced him to stay all those years ago.


	8. Chapter 8

"MJ called."

"And?"

"Wanted to know why you didn't go home last night."

Peter looked up. "Oh, _shit_."

"Oh shit, indeed," Harley said walking up to his brother. "So. Why didn't you?"

Peter glanced at the small window whose blinds weren't drawn. "I lost track of the time."

"Uh huh," Harley said, nodding slowly before asking Friday to let the light in. "It's afternoon. How long have you been awake?"

Peter shrugged. "I took an eight minute power nap somewhere in between. Not consecutively, though."

"Right. Hey, what's that?"

Peter glanced back at the screen in front of him. "It's a, uh . . . a list of Stark Industries interns for this year."

"And _why_ are you stalking the new interns?"

Peter glanced up from the screen. "Because one of 'em looks fishy."

Harley sat down beside Peter, almost pushing him off the couch. "Let's see. I ran the introductory program this year."

"Good, then you should be able to tell me all about her," Peter said, bringing up a hologram of one of the interns.

"C Smith," Harley read, "don't remember that name."

"Strange."

"Very much so. We only have about twenty-five interns this year, so I'd know them all, but she . . . she looks strange."

The brothers stared at the small photo on the ID card of a young red haired woman.

"Investigate it," they both said a second later, turning to each other.

"I'll put Happy's team on it," Harley said, getting up and pulling his phone out.

Peter snatched up his phone and his jacket. "I'll get on it at Sword. You'll be here to pick Morgan and Anya up from school?"

"What? Why? Where's Bucky?"

"May took him out for lunch to calm him down. He's still jumping about the attack on the tower."

"Ah. Yeah, I'll be around. Don't stress."

"Thanks. See you later."

* * *

"Afternoon, Stan."

"Afternoon, Mr Parker."

Peter smiled at the old man as he passed. He walked through the hallways, glancing through windows as he went. He paused after passing the lab and backtracked to the open doorway.

"What are you _doing_?!"

Cassie let go of Nicole immediately. Shuri looked up from her kimoyo beads. "Timing," Shuri said, "Nicole got the footage from Friday but Sin was kind of a blur. We managed to slow the footage down, so we're trying to figure out exactly how fast Sin moves by recreating her movements. The current answer? Way faster than normal."

"Oh, okay then. As you were." Peter turned to leave but stopped almost instantly. "Hey, wait one second! You said you were recreating her movements?"

Cassie nodded. "Yeah. I was Sin."

"And I'm Anya," Nicole said.

"Oh my God," Peter murmured, "the bitch nearly _strangled_ my sister?!"

"Yes, but Peter, she didn't want to."

"Excuse me?" Peter asked, raising his eyebrows at Shuri.

"No, listen. She did it, but only because Anya was fighting back against her. We looked over the footage. Several times. She threw Anya aside without a care. She wanted Morgan and nothing else mattered."

Nicole nodded. "She threw Anya aside like she was insignificant. She only fought Anya when it was clear Anya wasn't going to get out of her way. Sin will go through _anything_ to get to Morgan, and we still don't know why. Pete, Morgan isn't as safe as we thought."

" _Shit_."

* * *

"All right, spit it out."

Peter looked away from the screen. "Hm?"

"Why's my favourite agent looking so sour?"

Peter sighed as Hill folded her arms and closed the office door behind her. "What's on your mind, kid?"

"Morgan. Sin. Stark Industries. The Peak."

Hill frowned. "I know you said Sin wanted Morgan, but how do _all_ of those fit together?"

"You stuck an agent in Stark Industries without telling me," Peter said, turning the screen to face Hill, "why?"

Hill studied the screen. "That's not one of mine. I've never seen her before."

"That's what I thought. So I figured, maybe she's Peak. I can't find any record of her. So here's what I wanna know. Who is Cynthia Smith and what is she doing in both Sword and Stark Industries?"

Hill frowned. "I dunno. Why don't you ask her yourself?"

Peter looked away from the screen to see Hill holding out her access card. Peter grinned and swiped it over a scanner on his desk. "I love it when you give me Director's access. It feels like you're playing favourites and I'm winning."

"I am," Hill said, "and you are. Shut up and get done before I take my card back."

Peter grinned like a little kid on Christmas morning as he sent out a notice to this new agent to meet him in the office.

"Thank you, Director Hill."

"Anytime, Agent Parker.

When the redhead finally arrived, Hill was leaning against the desk and looking out the window while Peter told her about Ned's latest attempt at building the Millennium Falcon. Hill snatched up her access card and nodded to Peter.

"We'll finish this another time."

Peter nodded as he stood up pulling the already bunched sleeves of his shirt a little closer to his elbows. "See you around, Director. Afternoon, Agent Smith."

She smiled at Peter and walked towards the chair he gestured to. "Please, it's Cynthia."

Hill closed the door with a soft click as she left.

Peter didn't respond to it, leaning against the desk in front of Cynthia. "How old are you, Agent Smith?"

"Twenty-three, sir."

"So, what are you doing in a youth internship program aimed at school-going individuals roughly between the ages of fifteen to eighteen?"

"Pardon?"

"The Stark Industries internship program," Peter said, showing Cynthia camera footage of her entering the building. "That's you, isn't it?"

Cynthia said nothing.

"I've never seen you at Sword before, Agent Smith, and my brother does not remember you as one of the interns Stark Industries took on this year. So, why don't you tell me who you are and what you're doing at my job and in my family company?"

Cynthia stared at Peter. "I'm a Peak agent assigned to watch over and protect the Starks. We got word a . . . _threat_ may be targeting your sister."

"There's no record of the Peak sending in an agent -- actually, there's no record of you _anywhere_."

"Of course not, Mr Parker. Not even Director Hill has access to all Peak intel. You aren't as high up as you like to think. I'd have thought you'd find reassurance in having an agent watching over your family."

"Not when I don't know a damn thing about said agent. Why wasn't I made aware of this?"

"You didn't -- _don't_ \-- have clearance. I shouldn't even be telling you all this."

Peter folded his arms. "Well, don't stop talking on that account."

Cynthia raised her eyebrows. "You do not have the authority to order me around, Mr Parker. You made the mistake of blowing my cover, so you will treat me as I am -- your superior."

Peter smiled down at Cynthia. He laughed mockingly. "Darling, I _really_ don't care whether it was the Peak that sent you, or Thor himself. You are here, in my organisation, as a _Sword Earth agent_. I will treat you as you appear -- an agent several ranks below me. If you'd like to go even further, I'll treat you like I treat the interns. Like children. I really don't like Peak agents, so your status really means nothing to me. While you are here, _you_ answer to _me_. I don't care what the hot seat upstairs says. If they have a problem with this arrangement, they can withdraw their agent. _I don't need you_. My family is more than capable of looking after itself. On that note, shall we try again?"

Cynthia narrowed her eyes at Peter.

"Why wasn't I told Sword would have an agent in my family company?"

"I told you already. You don't have clearance."

"Look, this is about my family. That is the only thing more important to me than this job. From this moment forward, anything that happens near any one of my family members, I am to be notified. If not, I'll drive Captain America's shield through the Peak's engines myself. Tell _that_ to your Peak superiors."

"You're on thin ice, Parker. Don't forget that we can and we will fire you."

"Agent Smith, let me ask you something. Is this the face of a man who cares?"

"Thin ice," Cynthia reminded him as she stood up.

"Yeah, and you're skating on a hair's breadth next to my brother. Don't forget that I can and I will put this entire organisation on your tail."

"If that's all, Agent Parker, I have work that needs to be done."

Peter waved towards the door. "Please. Let it not be said that a measly Sword Earth agent stood in the way of a great Peak agent."

"You know, your sarcasm is really starting to get on my nerves. You're lucky I like your sister."

Peter had a thin smile on his face until the door closed again after Cynthia. He waited until he heard the soft click before picking up the old telephone on his desk.

"I want someone on her at all times from the _second_ she passes the front gate until she leaves it, and a daily report."

There was silence on the other end for a moment. " _Anything else, Pete_?" Hil asked.

Peter narrowed his eyes at the paused footage of Cynthia with a group of interns. "I want one of ours in Stark Industries."

* * *

Peter hurled his bag against the wall. "She's a goddamn Peak agent," he snapped, snatching a glass from the counter and dumping as much juice as he could fit into it. He leaned against the counter, drinking it with a frown on his face.

Harley frowned. "So . . . should I tell Happy to back down?"

"Are you an idiot? We hate the Peak agents, remember?" He sighed, setting the glass down on the counter. "Yes, actually, but put someone on her tail -- and tell them to maintain a safe distance. I asked Hill to send one of ours into Stark Industries too. I don't trust this woman. She seems. . ."

"Fishy," Harley said, remembering Peter's words before he had left.

Peter nodded. "Yeah. Listen, I called MJ and told her to meet me for a late lunch. Keep me posted."

Harley nodded. "Sure thing. Have fun."

"Harley, I am a dead man. MJ's going to kill me for missing dinner last night."

Harley scoffed. "Yeah, if you don't fall asleep before you get there. See ya."

Peter restrained himself from flipping Harley off as he left.

* * *

"Why's she after _you_? I mean, what's so special about you, anyway?"

"You sound jealous," Morgan said with a smile, choosing between two pajama pants.

"I might be," Anya teased, folding her arms and giving Morgan a light glare.

Morgan laughed as she made her decision and closed the wardrobe door. "I don't know, Ann."

"Come on," Anya said, following Morgan as she walked to the bathroom. She leaned against the wall as Morgan closed the door. "You gotta have _some_ idea."

"Maybe she thinks I'm more like my dad than I actually am. She did refer to me by my last name."

"If she wanted someone to build something for her, there are a hell of a lot more mechanics who would be easier to kidnap. There's something about _you_ specifically."

"I don't know," Morgan said again, opening the door. "Bathroom's all yours."

"Thanks," Anya said turning into the bathroom and closing the door. "Hey, what if it's not about your genius? Or lack thereof."

"Okay first of all," Morgan said as she turned down the covers on her bed, "I am a genius. Or, almost there."

Anya laughed. "Sensitive, aren't we?"

Morgan rolled her eyes and moved over to her sister's bed. "If not that, then what?"

"What if it's got to do with DNA? Like what if, for some reason, Sin needs the DNA of Tony Stark. You're his only living and biological relative."

Morgan frowned, holding Anya's old bear in her hand. "But that doesn't make any sense. . ."

" _None of this_ makes any sense, sweetie," Anya said, opening the door.

"Stop wearing my leggings to bed!" Morgan cried, throwing the teddy bear.

Anya caught it easily. "Sloppy throw, sister. Besides, you've worn this once in the three years you've owned it."

"Because you keep sleeping in it, you little shit."

Anya smiled as she climbed into her bed. "Okay look, it may not make sense, but it's an idea."

"I know, Ann, I just wish I really knew why Sin was after me. I mean, what could I possibly have? I'm just a sixteen year old kid with a rich family and some superhero connections. If Sin was after money, she should have target my mom, not me. If she wanted to get in touch with a specific superhero, she should've found someone close to _them_. What could attacking _me_ get her? What's so special about me?"

"A lot of things are special about you, Morgan. Don't beat yourself down. We'll figure this out. Or Peter will, at least. He promised he'd look after us. Him and Harley, they promised to be our big brothers forever. They won't let anything happen to you. _I_ won't let anything happen to you. I'll claw my way through an army if I have to. You're your father's legacy, Morgan, but that means nothing to me. You're my sister and my best friend in the whole world. Whatever Sin wants with you, she's gonna have to fight me to get it."

Morgan smiled and slid off her bed before climbing onto Anya's and hugging the older girl. "I love you."

"I love you too," Anya said, squeezing her sister tight. "I always will, _zolotse_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have made a decision regarding the title of this story. Strap in folks, BECAUSE THERE'S ABOUT TO BE ANOTHER BOOK AFTER THIS ONE. 
> 
> YASS I USUALLY DON'T REVEAL STUFF LIKE THIS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BOOK BUT HEY 
> 
> I'm pretty sure y'all deserve it after all the lovely comments I got on The Soldier and his Widow. So sit tight, enjoy these chapters, and bask in the knowledge that more will follow afterwards


	9. Chapter 9

Cassie was buzzing.

"You look like shit."

Cassie jumped, almost dropping the mug in her hands. "Oh, hey, Nic. How are you?"

Nicole peered at Cassie, squinting as she studied the woman in front of her. "How much sleep did you get, Cass?"

"Oh, I think I passed out for like six minutes. Not consecutively."

"Jesus, Cass, what the hell?"

"This is my twelfth cup of coffee. I'm not at my healthiest right now."

Nicole walked around the island counter and pried the mug away from the taller woman. "Sweet, you need to get some rest. You really look terrible. What kept you up?"

"I was studying everything we collected on Sin."

"Why? We said we'd work on that in the morning. Peter specifically told us not to overwork ourselves -- and he was talking to me. What made you do that?"

Nicole rubbed Cassie's arms when the latter began to shiver. "I noticed that Sin has a habit of disappearing often. She never stays out for long. If we can keep her preoccupied long enough, we should be able to wear her out to the point of over-exertion. Then we won't have a problem taking her down. The thing is, she's very good at making an escape, so that means we'll have to--"

"You need rest," Nicole interrupted, staring up at Cassie, " _now_. I can't have you sloppy and tired if Sin decides to attack now. You need to go and take a nap or a shower -- or better yet, both. God, Cass, take care of yourself too. Once you're properly rested, we can talk strategy."

"But I'm not tired."

"Then I'll take you to Sword and get a medic to knock you out."

Cassie held Nicole's stare for a second. "Fine," she grumbled, "but if I'm not out in five minutes, I'm getting out of bed."

"Fine."

Nicole sighed as she watched Cassie leave, hoping that Cassie made it to her room before she fell asleep.

Cassie walked with her eyes glued to the floor, mumbling about Sin under her breath. She walked right into Harley, stumbling and almost falling to thr ground.

"You okay? You look. . ."

"Terrible, I know. Thanks."

"No problem," Harley said, letting go of her arms. "How's it going with Sin?"

Cassie shot him a grin. "What? You don't talk to Peter?"

"No, I talk to him, but he likes to keep his work away from family. If you haven't noticed, he's not too pleased about you girls bringing work into the tower."

"I noticed," Cassie said, tucking her hair behind her ear, "we agreed to keep it up on our floor and not bring it down here."

Harley smiled. "Sounds fair to me."

Cassie nodded. "Mhm. How . . . how's work for _you_? Stark Industries treating you well?"

"Mhm. It's good. Lot of work, of course, but I have Pep and Aunt May to guide me. It's . . . it's comfortable. I feel at home."

"Corporate life suits you, Harley. You've never been to keen on the superhero stuff."

"Meh," Harley shrugged, "I have my moments."

"Mm, I heard you had a hand in developing Sword's tracking software."

"I did, yeah. Peter didn't want someone from the outside digging through Sword stuff, but he wasn't getting it quite right on his own. Hey, you know your team, right? Better than I know 'em anyway."

"Sure. Why?"

"I just . . . I'm worried about Morgan. She's a kid. I can't let anything happen to her."

Cassie smiled. "What? Do you doubt my superhero capabilities?"

"No. But I've seen heroes fail. I've seen casualties. I've seen mistakes. I trust you, Cass, with my life. I've always trusted you. But you're just as human as I am, and we make mistakes."

Cassie glanced down. "If anything were to happen to Morgan, you know I'd do everything in my power to fix it. You know I'll do everything I can to save her."

"I know," Harley said, smiling, "it's one of the things I always liked about you."

As if she had just realised how tired she was, a yawn caught Cassie off guard.

Harley laughed. "Wow, you haven't pulled an all-nighter since you graduated high school, huh?"

"Shut up, Keener," Cassie grumbled, nudging Harley to the side as she walked past.

"Get some proper rest, Lang. You look like you need it."

Cassie only rolled her eyes as she turned the corner. Harley smiled to himself as he continued on.

* * *

"Okay, out with it, Barton."

Nicole jolted like a deer in headlights. "What?"

"You keep checking your watch," Shuri said, "what are you waiting for?"

Nicole sighed. "Log off, Friday."

"Yep," Friday said while Nicole turned to face Shuri.

"My brothers are coming to spend the weekend. Mom and Dad are going out for their anniversary. I'm usually home to watch them -- Nath more than Cal. Cal's twenty-first is coming up, you'd expect him to be able to watch Nath for a weekend."

"Oh. Well, it will be nice to see them again. It's been quite some time."

Nicole nodded. "Yeah, except for the fact that Sin's attacked the tower once already. Who's to say she won't do it again? I don't want my brothers to be in danger any more than I want the girls."

"They'll be safe, Nic, there's all of us, and Bucky and Pepper. Besides, May could kick a demon's ass if she saw one of her kids in trouble, and she loves your brothers to bits."

Nicole smiled, somewhat comforted.

"Hey, have you seen Cass? I wanted to ask her about her suit fitting."

"I sent her to bed. She was up all night working on some-- wait, suit fitting?"

Shuri nodded. "The shrink-factor started acting up again. I found the problem and redesigned the suit."

"Can you give mine a redesign too?" Nicole asked, her eyes sparkling, "I'm getting a little tired of the minimal gold accents."

Shuri smiled. "What do I get out of it? Cass is letting me have a go in the suit."

Nicole frowned and tapped her finger against her chin, studying the marble tabletop. "I will let you . . . oh! I'll let you play with my double-edged blade!"

Shuri raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

"Mhm."

"Done."

"Noice."

Shuri smiled and shook her head. "Bring me your suit later tonight. I'll see where I can make some improvements."

"You're the best, princess!" Nicole cried, bouncing onto the couch beside Shuri, wrapping her arms around her.

"Okay, okay, don't strangle me, now."

Nicole smiled and loosened her hold on Shuri. "Thank you."

Rolling her eyes, Shuri gently petted Nicole's head. "Anytime, Ronin."

The elevator bell dinged.

"The Barton boys have arrived," Friday said as the doors opened.

Nicole pulled away from Shuri and stood up as her brothers walked in, still gazing around in awe at the tower. "Hey, losers."

Callum gave her a half-hearted wave while Nathaniel bounded over to give his big sister a hug.

"Dudes, where are your bags? You're spending the weekend here."

"Dad's bringing them up," Nathaniel said, "he's talking to someone in the lobby."

"Really? Who?"

"Some stranger," Callum said, "never seen her before."

"Friday," Nicole said, "who's my dad with?"

The AI took a moment to respond. "I'm not certain. I can't quite get a scan of her face to run facial recognition."

Nicole laughed. "Gosh, Friday, no need for such drastic measures. I was only curious."

"Nevertheless, he's almost on your floor."

As soon as Friday had said it, the elevator bell dinged once more and the door slid open. Nicole went to grab one of the two bags from her father. "Hey, dad. Nath says you're making friends down in Stark Industries' lobby."

"Nah, just catching up with an old friend's kid. You'll like her. She's a lawyer. Name's Kate."

Nicole smiled. "I'll see about it. Enjoy the holiday."

Clint kissed Nicole's cheek and waved at the boys, leaving them with a warning to behave.

"Kate?" Nicole said to Shuri once Clint was on his way down, "what a generic name."

Shuri raised her eyebrows. "Nicole has a popularity percentage of one point three while Kate is roughly zero point one. If you mean common when you say generic, then your name is far more generic."

Nicole rolled her eyes. "Shut up, geni- _ass_. Hey, come get your bags, boys! If you settle down quickly, I'll ask Peter to give you a tour of the tower."

Nathaniel and Callum vanished without a trace.

Shuri raised her eyebrows again. "Do they know where their rooms are?"

Nicole paused. " _Shit_." __

* * *

"And this," Peter said, as the doors of the elevator opened to the last stop on his grand tour, "is our personal training floor and the girls' lab."

The brothers followed Peter, peering through the glass into the rooms.

"We have two regular gyms, one extreme training centre, one VR training room, one open and empty training court, and one large lab on this floor. Morgan and Anya utilise it most. Your sister and the others use the training rooms and the lab at Sword instead."

"Who's that?" Callum asked, stopping in front of a glass door.

Peter frowned, not recognising the dark gray suit the brunette wore. "I don't know. Could be Cassie, could be Anya."

The three of them stood and watched the girl evade attacks and fight back viciously. It didn't remind Peter of Cassie, and according to Nicole, Cassie was asleep. Could it be Anya? He didn't remember Anya learning to fight so rough. But then again, lately he'd been rather preoccupied with Sin.

Gently nudging the brothers aside, Peter pushed down on the handle. The holograms fizzled out. "Knock knock."

Peter just barely recognised the frustrated Russian curse. So it was Anya.

"Look who came to visit."

Anya pulled the glasses off and folded the arms. "Hey," she said with a grin, "did you like the tour?"

"How'd you know we had a tour?" Nathaniel asked.

"Peter likes showing off to everyone he knows." She held out the glasses to him. "Wanna try?"

Peter laughed. "I don't think that's a good idea. His mother might just maim us if Nathaniel goes home fighting like _that_."

Anya shrugged. "Well, I'm in dire need of a shower. Maybe when I'm done with that, we can battle it out on some video games, how about that?"

Nathaniel grinned. "Awesome!"

"High five, dude," Anya said, holding her hand up as she walked past him. Nathaniel jumped to hit her hand.

Peter smiled. "Right, I have some work, why don't you go bug Morgan?"

"Bye, Peter!" Nathaniel called, already leaving. With a calmer goodbye, Callum followed his brother out.

* * *

Nicole walked into Morgan.

"Woah, where's the fire?" Morgan asked, grabbing Nicole's arms to steady her.

"I can't find the boys. I've looked everywhere."

"Oh, they're in my room. Anya's kicking their asses."

Nicole frowned.

"Video games," Morgan explained, "I'm on a pee break."

"With food?" Nicole asked, eyeing the drinks and snacks in the overflowing bag Morgan carried.

"No, I'm on my way back. You wanna take my spot against them? Anya's playing well enough without me anyway. She's an absolute nightmare."

"Oh. No, no, enjoy. I'm just surprised. They usually don't even play with me."

Morgan shrugged. "Anya can be persuasive. Maybe she bribed them. Who knows?"

"Yeah . . . well, I have work to do, so I'm gonna get to that."

Morgan waved and continued on her way to her room, wondering why Nicole had been so frantic.

"Did you get drinks?" Nathaniel asked when Morgan nudged the door closed behind her. "I could kill for a coke."

Morgan set the bag down between the two beds and handed a soda can to each of the three before grabbing her own and jumping onto Anya's bed behind the girl. "What did I miss?"

"Me doing some badass ass-kicking," Anya said, flipping her hair over her shoulder and throwing the boys on the other bed a wicked smile.

"I still say she's cheating," Nathaniel complained.

Morgan set the can on the dressing table before grabbing the controller. "How about a one-on-one, Nath? You and me, we'll see who's the better player."

"I'm beat," Callum said, getting up and putting the controller in the dock next to the screen, "knock yourselves out."

Anya nodded. "I'm calling quits too. Can't be hogging the winner's ribbon all night, can I?"

Morgan shrugged. "You're going down, Nathaniel Barton."

"Try me, Morgan Stark," Nathaniel said, narrowing his eyes at Morgan. Anya smiled at their antics before following Callum out of the room, both grabbing a snack from the bag.

"What do you normally get up to 'round this time?" Callum asked, unwrapping the chocolate bar he had taken.

Anya shrugged. "I like to be spontaneous."

"No plans?"

"Plans have the potential to flop. If you live life winging it, you can't say it didn't go according to plan because there wasn't a plan in the first place. Except for Sunday nights. Sunday nights are movie nights."

"I see. Where are we going?"

Anya slapped the panel, pressing six of the elevator buttons. "We will get off on the fourth stop."

Callum shrugged. "Sounds fun."

"What about you? What are _you_ normally doing round about this time?"

"I like to be spontaneous," Callum copied, grinning.

"Very funny, Barton."

"I thought it was, Barnes."

Anya rolled her eyes and turned her attention to her reflection in the elevator's mirror walls. Pouting, she pulled her hair up and held it for a second before letting go, the dark curls falling over her shoulders. "How would I look with short hair?"

"Er . . . cute? Is that the right answer?"

Anya smiled at her reflection. "I'm being serious. I'm thinking of getting a haircut. Morgan says short would be a nice change. Pep said short is easier to manage. Aunt May started crying over the loss of such beautiful long locks. Harley and Peter just shrugged. I need more opinions."

Callum tilted his head to one side and studied Anya. "What about your dad? What did he say?"

Anya shrugged. "Nothing."

"You'd look more like your mom, you know. You look a lot like her already. I personally think it's the eyes. Auntie Nat always had that bright twinkle in her eyes, like she was waiting for someone to take the bait and get trapped in her net. She taught me how to assemble a rifle, you know. Pissed my mom off so much, which was a reasonable response to a highly-skilled assassin teaching your ten-year-old child how to assemble a rifle."

Anya looked at the reflection of Callum as he leaned against the opposite wall. "Did you know her well?"

"Well enough to miss her," he said, staring down at the off-white tiles.

"I didn't know her all that well. I was adopted a year before Thanos came to Wakanda. I was seven. Still, I miss her a lot."

"She _was_ your mother, Anastasia."

Anya turned around and leaned against the mirror she had been watching Callum through.

"What?"

Anya smiled. "You called me by my name."

"That . . . that's usually what I do to let people know I'm talking to them."

"Don't get smart with me, Barton, you know what I meant."

Callum glanced at the panel next to the closed doors. "Missed your stop," he said, glancing at the several unlit buttons.

Anya blindly pressed a button. "Don't change the subject."

"What's there to say? That _is_ your name, isn't it?"

"No one uses it. You know that."

"Which means it holds more weight if I use it, proving how serious I am."

"My, aren't we feeling clever today?"

He smiled. "You bring out the best in me, Barnes."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Barton."

"That's debatable."

"Unlikely."

"Ten bucks says I can take you on."

"A date says otherwise."

Callum blinked, stunned by Anya's quick response. "Wha. . ."

Anya stepped out of the elevator as the doors opened. She turned halfway. "What's the matter, scared to fight?"

"Never," Callum said with a grin, following Anya to the training room at the end of the hallway.


	10. Chapter 10

"Keep up, old man!" Anya cried with a laugh as she bounced away from Callum.

"It's only _three_ years, give it a rest."

"You look tired, Cal, do you need your walking stick? Shall I fetch you a wheelchair? A respirator, perhaps?"

"You think you're _so_ funny," Callum hissed, picking up the stick he had dropped a second ago.

Anya blocked his hit with her own stick. She trapped him, the stick flush against his neck as she pulling it towards her, just short of strangling him. "Did you really think it would be easy to beat me? You don't just wake up one day _knowing_ how to fight. It takes training and building up skills."

"All right. So you know how to fight. I'll have you know I'm an expert in ballet."

" _How_ does that help your situation, Cal?"

"It just seemed like the time to throw a random fact out," he said before dropping down and knocking Anya's feet from under her.

She hit the mat with a thud and groaned. "I hate you," she mumbled, rolling over. Determined though, she got up again.

Callum stood up too, shaking his head. "Aren't you _tired_?!"

She smirked. "I can do this all night."

"Good morning," Friday interrupted, raising the electronic blinds to let the dawn light in.

"Ah, shit," Anya said, lowering her fists and squinting, "I really _have_ been doing this all night."

Callum took advantage of her momentary distraction and tackled her to the ground. Anya retaliated soon enough, once again pinning Callum down. "Yield!"

"Not today," Callum said, finding a way out.

"Damnit! I _know_ I have more experience than you."

"It's not about experience, sweetheart, it's about application."

"Do you get dumber as the amount of sunlight increases? Because you were really clever in that elevator and now you're just plain stupid."

"I'm nocturnal," Callum said, shrugging.

"I'm still kicking your ass."

Eventually, Callum tapped out. He knew that if Anya had applied just a little more pressure, she would've knocked him out.

The two of them lay on the mats a few feet apart, trying to catch their breath. "What an ugly ceiling," Anya murmured.

"What's so ugly about it? It's white, like most ceilings."

"Exactly."

"You're an idiot," Callum said with a laugh, turning to look at her. "So, where do you wanna go?"

"What?"

"You won. Where do you want to go?"

"There's this shitty shawarma joint a couple blocks away. You'll love it."

"Really? You eat there every second day. Morgan complained about it to Nath a couple months ago."

"Take me to get my hair cut. I'm not allowed to drive alone ever since I nearly drove dad's car _into_ the retirement home, so I'm gonna need someone to take me."

"That's not a _date_ , jackass."

"Fine. There's this café near the school. I heard it has great ice cream cake. Never been."

"It's a date. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need a shower."

"Eugh, so do I."

* * *

"Have any of you seen Anya?" Peter asked, walking into the main area of the team's floor.

Nicole looked up. "Nath says Callum's missing too. I wouldn't worry too much, actually. Did you check the training rooms? Ever since he started taking those self-defence classes, he's been singing about how he's finally better than Anya. I personally think she struck a nerve when she was teasing him and Nath."

"I checked," Peter said.

"Did you ask Friday if _she's_ seen them?" Shuri asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Friday," Cassie said when Peter froze and his mouth fell open, "do you know where Anya and Callum are?"

"I do," Friday said.

They waited a few seconds.

"Can you tell us?" Nicole asked.

"They're at the Grind House near the girls' school."

"They're at the what?!" Peter asked.

"Relax, Parker, it's just a café. I've been to it a couple times last time I was in New York. It's cute." Shuri smirked. "Lot of people use it as a first date café."

"Oh," Peter said, nodding.

"OH!" Nicole cried, "they're on a _date_!"

Cassie smiled. "Baby girl's all grown up," she said, sniffling and wiping away a fake tear. "I'm so proud."

"I can't wait to tease her when she gets back," Peter said, grinning. "Anyone know if Harley already left?"

"I saw him in the kitchen when I went to grab breakfast," Shuri said, "he looked like he was falling asleep."

"I'm gonna go tell Morgan," Peter said before leaving.

Nicole glanced at the suit she was watching Shuri work on. "Wait for me! I gotta tell Nath!"

* * *

"Tell me the truth, Barton. Did you -- let me -- win?"

Callum raised an eyebrow at Anya. "What, you think I'm that desperate to go out with you?"

"It's a possibility."

"While the answer to my own question is yes, no. I did _not_ let you win."

Anya smiled at the sidewalk as it passed underneath her feet. "I'm changing the focus of this conversation, and you can't stop me. You're that desperate to go out with me?"

"Shut up," Callum mumbled, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Hey, what happened to your ice cream?"

"I ate it. You watched me. You called me a greedy animal."

"Oh, right."

"Where are we going anyway?" Callum asked, glancing around.

"I thought _you_ knew," Anya said, stopping and glancing around as well.

"We're not lost, though, right? You know where we are, right?"

Anya scrunched up her nose as she looked for a landmark. "I think we're somewhere near the retirement home where my dad works."

"That retirement home?" Callum asked, pointing to the building across the street.

"Shady Acres . . . I'll be damned. How did we get here?"

"We have been aimlessly walking for about thirty minutes. Want to go say hi?"

Anya scoffed. "As if the man would recognise me with my new haircut," she said as they crossed the street, "it's a miracle he's still alive."

"Super soldier," Callum sang softly.

"Look, he went back in time and came back an old man. Now, I don't have all the details, but I'm pretty damn sure Howard Stark did something for him. If Morgan's dad could succeed in developing a temporary anti-serum, then I'm sure _his_ dad -- who worked directly with the great Dr Erskine -- could come up with something to effectively destroy the serum. He's living out of pure spite at this point."

"Spite?" Callum asked, pushing the door and allowing Anya in before crossing the threshold. "Who's he trying to spite?"

"My dad. He was born a year before Old Man Rogers, and I think he expects my dad to die first."

"Your dad doesn't look any older," Callum noted.

"That's because _he_ never ditched the timeline to counter his serum and live his 'best life' in the past."

"Don't be bitter, Anya, the man's essentially been your grandfather all these years. Will it make you feel better if I told you he's gone senile with old age?"

Anya grinned. "Yes. Very much so," she told Callum before greeting the receptionist with a warm smile and giving her grandfather's name.

* * *

"Peggy?"

"I'm gonna shoot him," Anya murmured.

"He's blind, Anya, can't you see how thick those glasses on the counter are?"

Anya huffed. "You're such a nice person. Honestly, screw you."

"If you keep hanging out with me, I might rub off on you."

Anya shuddered. "Eugh."

Callum grinned. "Asshole."

"Peggy, is that you?"

"No," Anya said patiently, kneeling in front of the rocking chair, "it's Anya -- you remember me, right?"

"Anya," Steve said, a smile of recognition splitting his wrinkled features as he forgot all about Peggy, "Bucky's baby."

"Mhm. I would've come with Morgan, but I was out with Callum today -- you remember Callum, right? Callum Barton?"

Steve smiled at Callum, clearly recognising his name more than his face. "Where did you go?" he asked, genuinely interested in hearing about what Anya was up to.

"We went out for ice cream at the Grind House."

"I see," Steve said, a teasing tone to his words, "did you have fun?"

"Behave yourself, _dedushka_!" Anya cried, looking as mortified as Callum had ever seen her.

Steve chuckled, placing his hand on her head. "You're growing up so fast, little Barnes. You'd think I'd be used to seeing the world change."

Anya smiled and took hold of Steve's hand. "Yeah, well, some of us aren't super soldiers. Anyway, Cal and I just stopped by to say hello. We're on our way back to the tower."

"Mm, say hello to your father for me."

"I will. Take care, grandpa."

Callum waited for Anya on the doorway, holding out his hand for her when she was close enough.

"He's just so stubborn," Anya hissed when she was sure Steve couldn't hear her any longer, "I'm just glad he doesn't try to tell me stories anymore."

Callum frowned. "Why don't you ask him about your mother? I'm sure he'd have a lot to say about her. According to my parents, he was about as close to her as he was to your dad."

Anya shook her head as they left the retirement home. "It's always the same stories over and over again. About how brave she was, how selfless, how amazing. I don't want to hear those. I want to hear the little things. How she screwed up making a coffee one day. How she accidentally threw salt in her coffee and drank it because she refused to admit she made a mistake. Friday tells me more about my mom than most people. I've long given up on asking my dad. He finds it hard to talk about her. He almost always breaks down -- even today. Pep's even worse. Morgan only asks about her father when Pep's really tired, tipsy or she brought him up. Our parents are really broken, even if they don't show it."

Callum stared down at the sidewalk as they headed towards the tower. "No one's parents are perfect, Anastasia."

Anya glanced at Callum, studying the solemn look he wore. She knew what he was thinking about. They'd spoken about it a few times. She'd heard Peter and Nicole speaking about it. Their father had done terrible things -- but they'd forgiven him. Callum had taken the longest. He didn't understand his father's choices. But it was years ago. He didn't think about it too much.

"No," Anya agreed, leaning her head against his arm, "but we love them anyway."

* * *

The weekend had gone by fairly quickly, and it suddenly hit Anya that Callum would be a sixteen-hour drive away.

How unfair.

Nicole had laughed for a few seconds -- and Peter. She'd shut them both up with a glare. School seemed so mundane when she had a team of -- well, _junior Avengers_ , living on the floor below her own, searching for a super-human that had some kind of vendetta against her little sister.

Morgan, on the other hand, saw school as she always did -- nap time.

". . . 1945 was a significant year, as -- Morgan! Wake up!"

Morgan jolted at her desk, lifting her head sharply. "Where's the fire?" she asked.

"There is no fire, Morgan," her teacher, Kate Jackson, said, "you were just daydreaming again."

"I'm sorry, Ms Jackson. I just have a lot on my mind."

"Perhaps, but these history tests count towards your final, and I've noticed you haven't been paying attention."

"What's the point? I know all of this stuff already. I spent seven Christmas dinners listening to my grandfather talk about this. Can't I just have thirty minutes of nap time instead?"

"Morgan Stark. I expect you to behave properly in class."

Morgan sighed and leaned her chin on her hand. "Well, _you'd_ probably be rattled too if you knew you had a supervillain on your arse," she mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"No, no, speak up. We encourage voicing your opinions. What was that?"

Morgan rolled her eyes. "Well, since you insist, I said that you'd probably be rattled too if you knew you had a supervillain on your arse."

Ms Jackson sighed. "Morgan, please. I understand that your father was a great hero and an even greater man, but these are not the kind of comments I expect to be hearing in class. Now, please focus and pay attention to the lesson."

Morgan huffed and folded her arms, but she was ready to sit quietly and do her best to focus on what her teacher was saying, but something flew into the classroom, breaking the window.

Ms Jackson stepped away from the board to examine the object. The students in the front row leaned over their desks to look at the little black cylinder. It was mo rock thrown by one of the younger students, that was for sure. Morgan was joined by her back-row friends as they slipped out of their seats and ventured forward. The cylinder, which seemed to be made of cheap plastic, popped open.

Morgan leaned over someone's shoulder and frowned. "Is that a. . ."

The window shattered when someone bowled through. "Get back!" she shouted, dropping something over the cylinder with a loud clang and dropping her body on the red, white and blue disc.

"Grenade!" Morgan shouted, recognising her sister's voice behind the mask.

Ms Jackson opened her mouth to scold Morgan and the intruder, but the grenade exploded under the shield, and thin trails of dark smoke escaped under the shield.

"We're lucky history is on the ground floor," Morgan said, thinking about what would've happened had there been a classroom below them.

Anya stood up and kicked the shield over. Morgan coughed and waved the smoke away as she stepped forward. "Was it really a grenade?"

"A world war two grenade," Anya said, reaching down and grabbing what was left of the cylinder. "Get the school to evacuate."

With that, the students left, some screaming, others speculating what was going on. Anya grabbed Morgan's arm as her mask folded back. "Hide in the crowd. I'll come find you. I'm going to do a sweep and look for her. Call Pete or Shuri. I'm gonna try to get hold of Cas or Nic. If you can't get either of them, call mom or dad. I'll try Harley or Aunt May if I can't get either of them."

Morgan nodded. She paused before hugging Anya tight. "Stay safe, _sestra_."

"Always," Anya said, kissing Morgan's cheek before jumping back out the window.

When it was clear she would not find Sin, Anya stowed the shield away in her bag and joined the crowd of students outside, ranging from confused to excited to afraid. She didn't dare call out Morgan's name, for fear that Sin was nearby and waiting for Morgan. Going through the students slowly, Anya found Morgan surrounded by the tallest students she could find.

"This is actually pretty clever."

Morgan grinned. "I know, right. Did you get them?"

"I got Nic. She said she's getting Director Hill on surveillance."

"I got Pete. He said he's rounding up the team and coming."

"Did your teacher say anything?"

Morgan shrugged. "She's been hissing to the principal ever since I got here. I never expected Sin to attack the school. Speaking of, why do you have the shield at school?"

Anya shrugged. "I had a funny feeling this morning. Thought it was diarrhoea for a minute. I was ditching calculus again and I saw her."

"Very funny, Ann."

"I'm serious! Look, last time I had a funny feeling like this, that bitch attacked our home."

Morgan frowned. "You stole your prototype suit out of my bag, didn't you?"

"Hey, it's the only suit I've got."

"Actually, I managed to fix up the bugs in the suits. They're back in the lab at home, though. Once we get home, I'll give you your new microchip. I actually had help from Shuri, so it's even better than before and the suit is made of biosynthetic nano-particles, so any wounds you acquire will heal much faster -- not that you don't _already_ heal much faster, given that you've been exposed somewhat to the Russian equivalent of the supersoldier serum. Also, the nano-tech will allow you to reform the suit where it may get damaged and allow for easy adaptation depending on what you require at any given moment. What? Why are you smiling at me like that?"

Anya shook her head, still smiling. "Nothing. I love listening to you ramble on about science-y stuff. It always amazes me how brilliant you are. You remind me of Shuri and Peter when I was younger. Peter used to visit Wakanda sometimes, and he and Shuri would either spend their time speaking in memes or in science. There was no in-between. Either they were two dorks too stupid to understand, or two super-geniuses to fast to understand. I loved it. I used to latch on to certain words that I understood and claim that I knew what was going on. Anyway, I leave the suits to you. I trust your intelligence."

"And I trust your battle strategy. Speaking of, what do you have in mind?"

"When Peter and Company arrive, we ditch the school. Maybe we'll be able to hike it back home to get those suits you were talking about. Otherwise, we suit up with the prototypes and hope no one notices we're missing. Keep an eye out for Sin. Nic says she has an affinity for bright red. She should stick out like a sore thumb."

A minute later, Peter showed up in the Iron Spider suit. The girls watched as he walked up to the principal and Morgan's teacher and spoke to them. They caught Nicole, Cassie and Shuri positioning themselves equidistant from Peter and the assembly of students. Morgan's phone buzzed.

"Check your bag?" she mumbled, reading the text message from Peter.

Anya held the school bag while Morgan rummaged through it, eventually pulling out a small pouch she didn't recognise. Turning it over, Morgan found two earpieces. Grinning, she handed one to Anya before putting the other in her ear.

"Testing, girls, loud and clear?" Shuri asked over the radio.

"Loud and clear," Morgan and Anya said, nodding to each other.

"Do not engage unless necessary," Nicole said, "we'll handle Sin. You worry about hiding Morgan from her."

"Got it," Anya said.

"Attention, students."

Anya and Morgan turned their attention to the principal with the megaphone.

"All students are to remain indoors at all times. This is for your own safety. Please head indoors and remain inside the school building. We will be notifying your parents and guardians of the situation. Please head indoors."

"Go inside," Shuri said, "hide amongst the other kids."

"We know you have the shield with you, Anya." Both girls turned to Spiderman up next to their principal. Anya could almost see the defeated grin on his face. "Keep it hidden unless absolutely necessary, got that?"

"Yes, brother."

Neither really wanting to have another encounter with Sin, the two of them joined a bunch of students in the cafeteria.

"Hey, Georgie," Morgan greeted, "saving these seats?"

Georgie, another tenth grader, smiled and shook her head at Morgan. "No, it's open. You okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"I was talking to Lily outside. She's in history with you. She said you were the one that shouted grenade."

Morgan shrugged. "I wasn't the one that contained the blast, though."

Georgie leaned towards Morgan. "Do you know who it was? Lily said it was some superhero in dark gray."

"Oh, her? That was Volkova."

Anya's head shot up from her school bag. Morgan shot her a grin.

"Volkova?" Georgie asked, "sounds cool."

"It's Russian," Morgan said, "it means wolf."

"It is cool. Do you know who she is? It was really brave to do that. Lily said she had some kind of shield. She couldn't see well, she was in the back. What if that shield hadn't been able to contain the blast? Volkova would've died."

"Yeah, well, she's really brave and selfless. I kinda look up to her a little. She's kind of my role model."

Turning away from Morgan, Anya hid a proud smile and flushed cheeks in her bag, searching for something she didn't actually want.

"You know her?" Georgie asked.

"She's by the tower a lot," Morgan said evasively.

"How did you know there was a grenade? I heard one of the guys saying it was just a random plastic container that they saw."

"It popped open," Morgan said flatly, "I saw the grenade just before A -- ah, Volkova dropped the shield over it."

"Oh. Still, it must've been scary."

Morgan thought about the number of times she'd been in close proximity to danger before Aunt May managed to grab her and put her back with her siblings, as well as the number of times she and Peter managed to create a disaster of an explosion in the labs. "I guess."

Georgia lapsed into silence, and while Anya studied the plastic casing, Morgan pulled out her phone.

The sisters sat up alert when the radio opened up to them once again.

"She's in the school!" Cassie shouted.

"Eyes up," Anya said to Morgan softly, "stay sharp."

Morgan nodded, feeling the microchip attached to her skull.

"Do not attract attention," Nicole warned, "stay quiet and stay low."

"Where are you?" Peter asked, "I'll close up the windows and doors so she can't get in."

No reply came from the girls. Peter stopped searching for Sin. "Morgan? Anya? Can either of you hear me?"

"Girls?" Shuri asked as she stopped in front of Peter, "are you there?"

"Caf--" Anya whispered, " _cafeteria_."

Nicole and Cassie shared a glance before sprinting.

"She's here," Morgan said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh shiiiiiiiiiiittt!!   
> Sin's in the school!   
> LOOK OUT, MORGAN!!!!
> 
> p.s. book2 is looking good but so much shorter idk


	11. Chapter 11

Anya pushed Morgan back and stood between her and Sin. "Back off," she sneered, raising her fists.

Sin tilted her head, crimson eyes studying Anya. Quite suddenly, a smoke bomb went off in front of Anya. Caught off guard, she stumbled back and fell to the floor. Not wasting any time, she tapped the microchip, activating both Virgil and the suit. She lunged for her bag and tore the shield out.

"Morgan!"

With the heavy clouds filling the cafeteria, Anya relied on her other senses. Blindly, she threw the shield. She wasn't quite as brilliant with it as Steve had once been, but she practised weekly at least. She was nearly there. At least now she managed to get the shield to ricochet back to her.

"Ann!"

So she _had_ hit the right target.

"Virgil, switch to heat vision. Target to locate: Morgan Stark."

Pretty soon, she found Morgan and a strange image right beside her. She knew at once that it was Sin trying to make another grab at her sister. Anya threw the shield a second time before sprinting towards the pair. Guided by sounds and the heat vision, Anya managed to fight Sin as best as she could.

"Morgan, run!"

Morgan wanted nothing more than to stay and help, but she knew she was the target and she needed to clear out as soon as possible. Hating the choice, Morgan fled.

Sin tried to follow, but Anya kept her occupied.

"Does anyone have eyes on the girls?" Peter asked, heading towards the cafeteria as fast as he could.

"We got Morgan," Shuri said, "get to Anya -- _now_!"

Peter broke down the doors just as Anya knocked Sin down with the shield.

"Are you okay?" he asked automatically, before noticing the cut on her forehead. Who knows what she was hiding under that suit. Anya nodded to him before turning back to Sin.

Only the woman wasn't there.

Anya left the cafeteria, hand to her ear, ignoring her injuries. "Sin is on the loose. I don't know where she is. Track her down and put her down if you have to. Someone better have eyes on my sister at all times, understood?"

None of them thought anything of the eighteen-year-old barking orders at them. Natasha would've told her she sounded just like Captain America.

"I need backup on the football field," Nicole shouted.

Anya secured the shield on her arm and took off in that direction, bursting into the late afternoon sunlight to see a blur of red attack a figure in all black.

"Morgan!" Anya cried when Sin lifted off the ground, the young brunette firmly in her grasp.

Nicole dropped her blades and aimed an arrow. Cassie knocked her off, sending the arrow into a tree. "You could hit Morgan," she explained before shrinking and zipping after Sin.

"Virgil, can this suit fly?" Anya asked.

"Not for very long," Virgil answered.

"Fine by me," Anya said, shooting off after the single glowing red dot in the sky.

Peter checked Nicole for any visible injuries. "You and Shuri get back to Sword and get on surveillance with Hill. Track Sin as best and as far as you can. Order a drone strike if you have to, but nothing that will endanger Morgan, got that?"

Nicole nodded and left the school with Shuri while Peter shot off after the other girls.

Sin sped up, faster than Cassie could go. Peter caught Cassie in a tangle of webbing when she fell out of the sky. Her suit sparked. "Shit. I blew a circuit."

Peter slowed down, looking around. "I lost them," he said, heading to Cassie to get her down to the ground. "Anyone have eyes on the girls?"

"I got 'em just over Pittsburgh," Shuri said.

" _Pittsburgh_?" Cassie echoed, "how fast are they travelling?"

"Dispatching three Sword jets," Nicole said.

"We're sending one to pick you two up," Hill added.

"Mach 5," Peter murmured.

"Hm?"

"How fast they're going. More or less five times the speed of sound. I know about four people that can travel that fast, one of whom is the literal God of Thunder. Sin just keeps getting more and more dangerous."

"You're forgetting that Anya's moving just as fast," Cassie said, looking at the direction she had been going in.

* * *

Anya felt like she had been flying for hours, but she wasn't about to let Sin escape with Morgan. She had heard the commotion over the radio, but she ignored it and chased Sin. If she could just get a little closer, she might be able to free Morgan.

"Warning, low power."

"Shit."

Straining the suits capacities, Anya reached out for her unconscious sister. Sin threw her a smirk before speeding up further.

Anya's suit failed and she spiralled down into the green expanse below her. She threw everything she had into rebooting, barely managing to slow her fall. Seeing no other way out, Anya manually ejected herself from the suit with seconds to spare and braced herself for impact.

When she came to, it was to three identical ceiling lights swirling around before they merged into one. She tried to sit up, but someone gently pushed her back down against soft pillows. "You're hurt. Lay still."

"Morgan," she mumbled, squinting at the bright lights.

"Do you want me to dim the light?"

"Mhm."

When the light stopped blinding her, Anya tried to focus on her strange surroundings.

"Hey, can you see me clearly?"

" _Cal_?"

"Yeah, I'm surprised to see you too. Wanna tell me what happened?"

"I need a phone. Where's yours?"

"What? Why?"

"I gotta call Peter."

Sighing, Cal unlocked his phone and handed it to Anya. Grunting, Anya tried to sit up.

"That, you can't do."

Anya glared at him, but she relaxed against the pillows. Cal leaned forward and watched Anya work with his phone.

"I swear, you're buying me a new one if you damage this one."

"Relax, Morgan taught me how to do this."

"What is 'this', exactly?"

"Hacking a secure frequency."

Cal picked up a destroyed little black device. "Same frequency this was on?"

Anya glanced at him. "Ow. I must've fallen pretty bad."

Callum scoffed. "If we were closer to the city, I'd have called an ambulance."

"Why?"

"You bled all over my mom's flower bed, Anastasia."

"Yikes -- oh! I got on! Hello?"

"Anya?" Peter asked, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I crash-landed . ."

"Three hours," Cal supplied when she glanced at him.

"Three hours ago. I'm fine, I'll get back as soon as I can get up again. Anything on Morgan?"

There was a heavy pause. "Lost sight of her somewhere over Lake Michigan," Hill eventually said.

"Shit," Anya mumbled, closing her eyes.

"Where are you?" Shuri asked, "we can send someone to get you."

"I'm fine, I'm with Callum. Call me if you get anything else. I'll call back when I'm leaving."

"You're with Callum?" Nicole asked, "at his apartment in Atlanta or with my parents?"

"With your parents. Keep looking for them."

"Get some rest, little wolf."

"I will," Anya promised, ending the call and passing the phone back to Callum.

"So," he said, getting up from the small chair he had brought up and going to fetch a glass of water from a desk in the corner, "tell me what happened?"

"You first," Anya said, shifting slightly and wincing.

"Stay still," Callum said softly, moving the chair closer to the bed before sitting down. "I got you a straw because I'm not letting you sit up. Drink."

Glaring, Anya did as she was told.

"I was on my way out. I was gonna head back to Atlanta tonight. I'm back at work on Wednesday. Nath was playing that video game you gave him when we were at the tower. My parents are still sleeping the vacation off. Apparently, hiking is not for my mom and my dad's just really old. Anyway, so no one heard you crash outside. You've got two major -- visible -- injuries. There's a long cut above your hip and what looks like a stab wound through your shoulder. The way you winced every move I made, I assume you have several internal injuries, but without x-ray imaging, I can't tell. Now, why is there a bust up suit in my front yard, why do you look like you went through the Avengers twice, what are you doing in Missouri, who has Morgan, and who are you chasing?"

Anya took a deep breath, something she regretted when she felt like a thousand needles had gone through her body.

"Oh, about the pain, I couldn't give you anything because you were unconscious and I don't have any drips on me. I didn't exactly plan to be handling a medical emergency on my weekend off."

Anya smiled. "Ha ha. Got something I can take? Advil?"

"I have Tylenol?"

Anya scoffed, scrunching up her nose. "Baby medicine."

Callum laughed. "Is it my fault you've developed a resistance to paracetamol? Hang on, let me check for something. You sit here and work on your story."

When Callum returned, Anya was half sitting up. He frowned. "Stop moving. Knowing you, you'll rip the stitches I gave you and who knows what else is injured that I can't see."

"Did you find something?"

"Yeah, I found Motrin."

"Awesome. Give it to me."

Callum took the glass of water from Anya and set it down on the nightstand. "Well?"

"There's this . . . _person_ , that Peter's been chasing for a while. That's what he rounded up your sister and the girls for. He's trying to build a team to help him take her down. She calls herself Sin. We don't know why, but she wants Morgan. She attacked the school today. I tried to get her, but she tossed a grenade into Morgan's class. It was save Morgan and her class or capture Sin. She knew I'd choose Morgan. I lost her. We called Peter in, but . . . she still got Morgan. I tailed her as far as here, but my suit gave out. If I'd crashed while in the suit, I'd have been a lot more injured. My uncle Rhodey is handicapped because of a fall like that. So I bailed the suit and crashed into the flower bed."

"Yeah, well, you could've ended up handicapped too. Didn't your suit have a fail-safe?"

"It's a prototype. Morgan told me not to play with it, but I had nothing else to go with at the moment. If I'd gone back to the tower, I might've been able to get into a proper suit that could've actually caught up to Sin."

Callum sighed and stood up. "Get some rest. I'll change your dressing and take a look at your stitches in the morning. Try not to further injure yourself until then, hmm?"

Anya smiled as Callum headed to the door. "You'll make a great doctor, Cal."

He smiled back. "Thanks, Anya. Get some sleep," he said again, flicking the light off and leaving, pulling his bedroom door closed. He headed downstairs before calling his sister.

* * *

"Camera. Footage."

"Sir, I--"

" _NOW!!_ "

The agent scurried out of the office. Peter sighed, running his hands through his hair as he turned to look out of the full length windows.

"Peter," Karen said, "Harley is calling."

"Answer."

"Hey, little brother. I have some shitty news."

"Great," Peter grumbled, folding his arms and glaring at the shooting range down on the ground floor. "What is it?"

"Remember that intern you had me tail?"

"Vanished?"

"Yep. No trace of her. Happy's guy said he looked down for a second and she was gone. We searched the entire building. Nothing."

"Camera footage recieved," Friday said.

Peter turned back to his desk and opened up the video.

"What is it?" Harley asked.

"Agent Smith leaving our building. She ditched my agent too, although with a lot more violence. He's nursing a bruised eye and a fractured rib."

"You think. . .?"

"It makes sense," Peter said, finally looking at the video call, "Sin, Cynthia. It's also worth noting that I've always managed to get access to Peak files before she showed up. Obviously, I don't have full access, but after Sin's first attack, I haven't even had access to the agent listings. She somehow managed to plant herself in Sword and SI, while simultaneously kicking me out of the netw--"

"Holy shit!"

"What?" Peter asked, not liking the look of shock that plastered itself on Harley's face.

"Months of camera footage and network access listings from SI just flooded in. Sin kicked us out of Stark Industries too."

"What's missing?" Peter asked immediately, turning away from the video call to pick up a telephone. "Get me the lab . . . THE WISHBONE LAB WHO ELSE WOULD I WANT TO SPEAK TO?!"

Harley chuckled at Peter's unchecked rage, shaking his head at his younger brother.

"Pete?" Shuri asked, "what's wrong?"

"Tell Nic to search Sword's database again. I have a feeling she's going to find whatever Sin took that first time she was here."

"I'll tell her to call in if she gets something."

Peter turned back to the call. "Give me some good news, Harley. Did she take something?"

Harley nodded grimly. "Pete, she's been in Stark Industries for more than six months, and her searches took her back decades."

"What are you saying?"

"Sin wants Morgan for a reason. She's the last living person with blood ties to Howard Stark."

" _Howard_?!"

"Mhm. Sin stole records dating back to the forties. Your desk is beeping."

"What? Oh." Peter pressed a button in front of him and a screen popped up next to Harley's face. "What?"

"Hi, Harley," Nicole greeted, "Peter, Sin has copies of old Shield files. _Everything_ on Tony Stark."

Peter glanced between Harley and Nicole. "So, what does Agent Smith want with the Starks -- specifically, their _bloodline_?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i honestly don't know if things are getting interesting or confusing. Either way, THERE'S NOT MUCH LEFT 0_0


	12. Chapter 12

Anya woke to the sound of whispered shouting as someone sprinted away.

"Mom! Callum has a girl in his room!"

Given that she had woken up near one in the morning -- a good four hours ago -- and trudged to the bathroom to find some relief in as many Motrin tablets she could take without causing anything unwanted, Anya barely heard a word.

Grumbling to herself, she pulled the comforter off the edge of the bed as she stood up and, wrapping it around herself, she slowly made her way downstairs.

"Cal?" she asked, squinting in the morning sunlight as she stood in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Morning, I made a little extra oat-- _you_ shouldn't be walking!"

Anya smiled. "Morning."

"Go lay down on the couch," Callum said, pointing to the living room.

"You can't tell me what to do," Anya scoffed.

"As your doctor, I kind of can."

"You haven't even graduated yet," Anya grumbled under her breath, dragging her feet as she walked to the living room.

"Apologies, princess," Callum said sarcastically, following with a bowl of oats, "but you didn't exactly give me a choice when you crash-landed in my front yard. Ps, my mom is going to kill you when she sees the remnants of the flowerbed."

Anya rolled her eyes and sat down. "I don't need to be _babied_ , though."

"You do. You're Anya Barnes, your sister is Morgan Stark, your brother is Peter Parker. If anything, you need to be on a baby leash."

"Cal!"

He smiled. "Open wide, here comes the choo-choo train!"

"I'm not hungry," Anya snapped turning her head away from Callum.

"No, you're just bitter that you need someone to take care of you for a while, Miss Tough-as-nails. Newsflash, sweetheart, you're not indestructible."

"I _am_ ," Anya said, facing Callum again, "it's the one thing about me that's _mine_. Every frickin person I know is a genius on some level and I'm not. According to the stories, I reprogrammed a helmet when I was six. It. Was. An. Accident. I'm not some super-genius like Peter. I'm not academically inclined like Morgan. I'm not an engineering prodigy like Cass, I'm not a master marksman and swordsman like Nicole, I'm not a fierce warrior like Shuri, I'm not a medical genius like you and I'm not a corporate genius like my mom or Harley. The only person in my life that is like me at all is my dad. Because of Steve Rogers."

"Okay, first of all, you are _not_ indestructible. Second, the man is in a wheelchair, Anya, what's he got to do with all of this -- this . . . bitterness?"

"Stupid Steve and the stupid serum and stupid war and the stupid scientists and the stupid people. Stupid stupid _stupid_. Everything is just so _stupid_! I'm no Captain Supersoldier like my grandfather, and I'm no superhero like my dad, but I am special."

"No one is indestructible, Anastasia," Callum said softly.

"All right, doctor. Maybe I'm not indestructible. But I'm not all that destructible either. There is a reason I didn't fear falling out of the sky. And if you don't believe me, believe this."

Ignoring Callum's protests, Anya ripped off the plaster covering her shoulder wound. Callum stared at her shoulder.

"I swear there was a hole there. Right there. I couldn't even stitch it up, there was nothing to close. I swear, something ran through your shoulder."

Anya smiled slightly as Callum stood up to check her back, verbally expressing his surprise at the absence of Anya's wound. "This makes no sense!"

* * *

"You're dead, you know that, right?"

"Sweetie, you couldn't kill me if I put a gun to my head and forced you to pull the trigger."

"You think _I'm_ going to kill you? Ha! They'll find me. And when they do, you'll be sorry you ever attacked my home."

"You think I care about your home? You think I care about your misfit family? You're blips on a screen, Stark. Meaningless. You come and go in a single moment. I'm going to make the world crumble. I know I'm going down, but I'm taking the whole world with me. Starting with your brother's previous agency."

"Why? What did we ever do to you? I don't even know you!"

"True, but you can unlock secrets for me. No one suspects the littlest one. You know things and you don't even know you know them. The rest is up to what's in your blood. You're going to open Howard Stark's safe for me, and I'm going to make this world pay for what it's done to me."

"Oh, goodie. A sob story."

* * *

"Quit squirming," Callum scolded, "I might tear something if you keep jumping."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Anya spat, shoving her face into the cushion, nearly hitting her head on the armrest -- despite the cushion.

"I'm sorry, Anya, but we don't usually remove stitches from perfectly healed skin tissue. Besides, this wasn't part of my training. We don't exactly _remove_ stitches in the emergency ward as much as we _give_ them."

Anya groaned. "Just get done with it."

"You wanna tell me how you healed overnight?"

Anya sighed, turning her head sideways and relaxing on the couch she laid on. "My birth parents were Russian. I never knew them. My father, Nikita, died weeks before I was born and my mother, Karennia, weeks after. He was a KGB agent and she was a Red Room escapee. I hear Karennia was one of -- if not, _the_ \-- best trainee they had. Dr Erskine developed the supersoldier serum for use in the war. Years after, Hydra used it on my dad -- Bucky -- and created the Winter Soldier. Even later, Russia tried it's hand and developed its own serum. It was tested on Karennia. She was a success. The serum seemed to have no negative side effects on her. The KGB wanted part in the making of a Russian super army. They put forth an expendable agent they thought was compatible for the serum, Nikita."

Anya paused when Callum pulled out another stitch.

"Are you sure you don't want to wait until I can get some anaesthetic?"

"I'm fine," Anya insisted, staring at a painting of white heather and ambrosia. "Anyway, so according to the records I managed to find, they had this little forbidden romance going on and it went far enough that they had a child."

"You?" Callum asked, glancing up from what had once been Anya's wound.

"No. A boy, Vitaly."

"What happened to him?"

"He died before I was born. Casualties in a failed assassination on Nikita. I was an accident. A mistake. They never meant to have me. I know it. They'd lost one child, they couldn't do that again. Both of them had the serum flowing in their blood. It was a part of them. It was a part of Vitaly. It's a part of me. I'm not super-enhanced like they were, or like Steve was, or like my dad is. But there are things I can do that I shouldn't be able to do. That shield is pretty heavy, you know. My stamina is pretty great. I had to work to get to where I am, but it's pretty easy for me to stay here. Fit. Healthy. Skilled. Very little fazes me and I have developed a high threshold for p-- OW GODDAMNIT CAL!"

Callum raised an eyebrow when Anya threw him a dirty look over her shoulder. "High threshold for what?"

"Shut up," she hissed, burying her face in the cushion. 

Callum laughed to himself as he got up and walked back to the kitchen. "Will you have breakfast now?"

Anya sighed and stood up, pulling her blanket around her and lazily walking to the kitchen, where Callum was dishing out a bowl that he would force her to eat if he had to -- or he would fetch his mother to coax Anya into eating food. He almost dropped the bowl in surprise when Anya wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you," she said, resting her head on his back, "for taking care of me."

Callum smiled. "You're welcome, Anya. Breakfast?"

"Okay."

When Laura finally gave in to Nathaniel and woke up, she came downstairs to find Callum and Anya asleep on the couch, leaning against each other, a half-finished bowl of oats on the coffee table and something she didn't recognise playing on the TV.

"What. . ."

* * *

Peter paced the length of his desk. "Director, I am aware that the threat is growing, but I _will_ wrap it up."

"You have a day, Agent -- maybe less."

"A day?!" Peter cried, stopping and facing the hologram in the centre of his office. "Director, even if I manage to locate Sin within the day, we still don't know her plans nor do we know her motives. A day isn't enough time."

"If you can't contain the threat, then I will have to--"

"Cut the bullshit, Abigail. What's this really about?"

Abigail Brand sighed. "There are people up here that don't like you, for various reasons. Some think you're incompetent. Some think you don't have the necessary skills to be Sword Earth's full-back plan. Most think you got to where you are because of favouritism. Director Hill fights for you every time the council comes together. I like you, Peter, I really do, but Sin is a threat the council feels you cannot handle alone."

"I will," Peter said, leaning on the desk, "I don't want your agents on my planet."

"I know, but as much authority as I hold, it's not enough. If the council out-votes Director Hill and I, you will have Peak agents added to the fray."

"Abby, I need more time. You don't think I'm gonna work my ass off to find her? The bitch has my baby sister!"

Abigail glanced down at something in front of her that Peter couldn't see through the hologram. "I can give you a week max. Then it's up to the council."

Peter nodded. "Thank you, Abby. For this and the files."

"Put them to good use. I'm sorry, Peter, adding to the fire when you're already so stressed about your sister, but the council doesn't think we can handle ourselves in our own positions. Sword is changing. Take care, Agent."

"You too, Director."

Peter stared at the empty office for a moment. "Karen, forward the files to Nicole, then download them to your drive. I need to talk to Bucky."

* * *

Anya woke up, startled. Callum fell over and nearly off the couch. "You could've just said you wanted me to move," he grumbled, gathering the discarded blanket and dumping it on Anya, who shoved it away.

"The serum," she said.

"What about it?"

"Peter called earlier this morning, remember? He said something about Sin stealing files dating back to the forties about Howard Stark, as well as everything Shield once had on Tony Stark. Both of them were involved in Steve's supersoldier serum. Howard worked on it with Dr Erskine in 1941, and Tony managed to reverse some of its effects in 2017. Sin's probably got some variant of that serum running in her veins. I don't know how, but Sin wants the Stark family because they've been involved with the serum. We need to get to Sword now."

"You," Callum said, "are a genius. Can you fly one of their jets?"

"To some degree, why?"

"Nic has an emergency jet that we're usually not allowed to touch, but I think this counts as an emergency, don't you?"

"When can we leave?"

"Now."

* * *

"Never again," Callum said as he exited the bathroom. "Never flying with you ever again."

"I'm sorry," Anya said with a smile.

"Annie?" Nicole called as she searched, "Cal?"

"Over here!"

"I feel so sick," Callum complained.

Nicole grabbed Anya and hugged her as tight as she could when she caught up to them. "Are you okay? One minute you were right behind Sin and the next you vanished. Those three hours before you called were the most stressful of our lives. Peter even managed to get the Valkyrie to show up."

"I'm sorry," Anya said, "where's Peter? I think I have something that can help."

"He went to see Harley. He's actually on his way back. Why don't you come to the lab, then Shuri can look you over."

"I'm fine, actually. Cal patched me up nicely."

"Good job, little brother," Nicole said with a smile, giving him a hug as well. "Come on, Anya, your brothers will be here soon."

* * *

"I think that Sin's been exposed to some variant of the serum."

Every single person in the room suddenly had an "OF COURSE!" moment, all staring into space as their puzzle pieces fell together with each others'.

"I can't believe we didn't think of that," Cassie said, "I mean, it makes sense. Pete, the Sword files you got from Director Brand confirms appearances from approximately 1947."

"So, if she has the serum like Anya says," Harley said, leaning forward, "it explains why she's been around since then."

Nicole dropped her feet off the table and leaned forward. "If Sin's first documented appearance was 1947, and she maintains the appearance of a twenty to twenty-five-year-old woman, that puts her birthdate at somewhere between. . ."

"1922 to 1927," Cassie said.

"But what does the serum give her?" Brunnhilde asked while Nicole opened up a screen and worked on finding something.

"Definitely an extended lifespan," Peter said.

"You realise she's only a few years younger than dad?" Anya asked Harley.

"A healing factor faster than dad's," Peter said, "remember when Nic shot her through the heart? She got right up and wanted to attempt a second attack _and_ she managed to do her little Houdini trick."

"I kicked her off the top of the tower," Anya recalled, "and then through the window."

"No, the window broke when Morgan and I crashed through it."

"She phased through it."

"Molecular manipulation?" Shuri suggested, adding it to the list she had started when Brunnhilde asked about Sin's abilities.

"I'm thinking somewhere along the line of quantum physics, actually," Cassie said, tapping her fingers on the table.

"Quantum?" Harley asked, raising his eyebrows at her, "Cass, _you_ still can't go quantum without the possibility of getting lost -- and you have _four_ experts backing you. How can one woman do it?"

"She's lived a long life," Shuri said, "maybe she's learnt a lot."

"I don't buy it," Callum said, "there had to be some icing involved. No way she would survive living--"

"Dad doesn't look like he's ageing," Anya said, "and his serum was skewed by Hydra."

"Ann, he was in cryostasis for a very long time. We don't know what that did to him."

Anya shrugged. "I'm just saying. This serum is risky business -- maybe even riskier than quantum physics."

"She's right," Shuri said, "we know it turned Johann Schmidt into the Red Skull."

"I found her," Nicole said suddenly. "She was born in 1927, first documented appearance at age twenty, bulldozed an entire community, taking in the children to have them raised by the same Hydra nuns that raised her."

"Hydra nuns," Brunnhilde repeated, raising her eyebrows.

"Hydra had _nuns_?" Callum asked.

"Hydra had a dozen churches, actually. Never actually declared dead, so she's still legally alive. Most common alias: Sin. Current alias: Cynthia Smith. And here's her first official photograph and her most recent security cam footage," Nicole said, swiping her screen up for everyone to see, "Sinthea Schmidt."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how many of you saw this coming?


	13. Chapter 13

"So let me get this straight. You want me to hack into a biometric safe? That was designed in 1952? You do realise what that sounds like, right?"

"Don't be daft. I want you to hack into an _electronic_ safe and then I'm going to extract your DNA from your blood to _open_ a biometric safe."

"What's in the safe?"

There was no answer.

"What's your name? Like, your legal name, your birth name? Which is it, Sin or Cynthia?"

"Are you always this talkative, Morgan Stark?" Sin asked, turning away from a computer.

"When I want to be, yeah. So, which is it?"

"Neither. Well, it's Sinthea, actually, S-I-N-T-H-E-A."

"What's it mean?" Morgan asked.

"I did not kidnap you to be interrogated by you. Do you want me to tie you down and duct tape your mouth?"

"My name means sea chief, I think. Or something like that. I think it's pretty cool. Hey, are there any windows in here? It's getting pretty dark and stuffy. I hate dingy spaces. Makes it hard to work. Where are we anyway? Judging by an approximate time, given that we would fly in a straight line and that last time I had my earpiece, we were over Pittsburgh, I'd say somewhere in Regina. But, we didn't go in a straight line, so maybe we're in Wyoming or Utah. Or . . . we could've just gone in one massive cir--"

"I don't know!" Sin snapped, slamming her hand down on the table. "I don't know," she said again, quieter, "okay?"

Morgan stood up from the corner she'd been told to wait in. "What about Goddess of Sins?" she joked softly, "that's what Thea means; goddess. Or the Goddess of Bushes because I once read that the biblical meaning of the name Sin is Bush."

She smiled at Sin and despite herself, Sin laughed.

"What did the world do to you? Why do you hate it so much?"

"My father hated me," Sin said, "because I wasn't the son to succeed him. He cast my mother and me aside and tossed us onto a group of nuns. My mother died when I was young. I don't remember how old I was. Then, when he had no other options, he decided to accept me. Told the scientists to preserve my strength and my youth until after he had died. They abandoned me. He abandoned me a second time. I woke up to a strange new world that had moved on and forgotten everything. I'm going to do what I was born to do, no matter who stands in my way."

"What is that?"

"I'm going to take over your precious Sword and I'm going to make it mine. Then you and your family better hide, because you'll be my first target."

"What's in the safe, Sin?"

"Can't say. Sit down and shut up."

* * *

"I swear to God, if you tell me to calm down _one more time_ , I will sever the neurons in your brain with your femur."

Bucky and Pepper blinked, glanced at each other, then slowly shifted to the other end of the couch. May stood up and started pacing. The agent Peter had sent with coffee squeaked and left.

"What did you do to my agent?" Peter asked as he walked in, watching the agent scurry out.

"May threatened to use his femur to smash his brain," Bucky said, "anything new?"

Peter shrugged. "We're still running facial recognition on both Sin and Morgan. Caught them at a gas station in Missouri, but the time stamp calls it at half an hour before Anya called to let us know she was with Cal. We called in the all-purpose convenience store and he told us they went in to use the bathroom and never came back. When he sent someone to check, the window behind a locked cubicle was broken and a set of clothes left on the floor. Pair of jeans and a t-shirt was stolen from the store."

"Makes sense," Bucky said, "people commit colours to memory easier than actual features."

Peter nodded. "Four hours ago, a gas station in Jackson caught Morgan's face. Called in, same story. At this point, we're starting to hope Morgan manages to make contact with us somehow."

Something in the room beeped. Peter pushed his sleeve up and a small screen projected from his wristband.

"Nic, why am I being notified of myself entering the building?"

"We added Sin's common disguises to the search. Accidentally scanned your access card. Sorry."

Peter shook his head and flicked his wrist.

"Wait, bring that back," Bucky said.

"What?"

"There was a photo in the top right corner."

"There were several," Peter said, opening the window of the search again and moving to sit between Bucky and Pepper.

"That one," Bucky said, pointing to one of the images Nicole had added. "Got anything clearer?"

"Karen, bring up the files we got from the Peak. Get me a clear image of what Sword believes is Sin's natural state."

When the image of Sin glaring at them appeared, Peter glanced at Bucky. "What about it?"

"I know that face."

* * *

"Wait wait wait," Shuri said, "how sure are you?"

"I don't know," Bucky said, shrugging, "like twelve percent?"

"That's not a lot, dear," May said softly.

"Look, all I'm saying is, I recognise her from Hydra."

"That could be where she got the serum from," Anya murmured.

"Of course she's Hydra," Cassie said, "her father was the goddamn Red Skull."

"No, that's not it," Bucky said, shaking her head, "I remember her wanting to get out. I remember her hating herself and the serum. Then one day, she just vanished. I didn't ask questions. I assumed she'd died or got out."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Harley cried.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't exactly aware who it was you lot were chasing down until a couple of hours ago."

"Okay, cool it," Peter said, "we really don't need to be arguing right now."

"James," Pepper said, "if you remember her wanting to get out, why is she lashing out now?"

"I don't know," Bucky said, sighing.

"Do we know anyone who can do memory dives?" Nicole asked, "maybe see the memories like video footage?"

"Yeah," Brunnhilde said, glancing at Peter, who frowned and folded his arms.

"I'm sensing a 'but' on its way," Harley said.

"But we can't get hold of her," Peter said, "Wanda dropped off the radar a few years ago and shows up in facial recognition like once every five months. She's out of the question."

"She can't remember who she is," Bucky said softly.

"What?" Anya asked, sitting up straighter and leaning towards her father.

"She can't remember who she is," Bucky repeated, "I wasn't the only one Hydra developed triggers for. That's why she's acting out. I only spoke to her once, but I heard stories. She was an asset to Hydra in the times before I was. They would threaten their agents with her, saying they'd have to fight her. She was ruthless and violent. Never cared about who was in her way. She was worse than I was. If she can't remember who she is. . ."

"We need to find Morgan," Brunnhilde said, " _now_." __

* * *

Morgan whimpered in her sleep. Sin sighed. She'd known this would happen, but at least it was better than Morgan's incessant yapping. She reached out for something in her sleep, frowning and frowning when her hand met only the hard mattress.

"I do not create unnecessary messes," Sin muttered to herself, "I do not waste bullets or energy."

"Anya. . ."

"I do, however, have earplugs."

Blocking Morgan out, Sin went back to breaking down Sword's outer firewalls. She'd wake Morgan when she needed the girl's skills. She regretted not buying the duct tape when they'd been in that last store.

"Find me, _sestra_."

* * *

"What's she saying?" Callum asked.

"It's Russian," May said, brushing Anya's hair aside as she slept on the couch May, Bucky and Pepper had been sitting on earlier. "She talks in her sleep a lot. She jumped orphanages when she was about five and had to quickly learn English to understand the people around her. Sometimes she falls back on Russian."

"Morgan," Anya murmured, reaching out.

"They rarely sleep well without each other," May added.

Callum nodded, remembering going to check on Anya in time to see her jolt awake, crying out for Morgan. It had been a nightmare, so she said.

Bucky walked in, running his hand through his hair.

"Anything new?" May asked.

"Nothing. I didn't actually know her. I just . . . knew _about_ her. Go get some rest, I'll sit with her."

Anya began to mumble under her breath again. Bucky frowned. "Has she been saying the same thing over and over again?"

May shrugged.

"Sounds like it," Callum said, "why? What's she saying."

" _Ya nashel tebya, sestra. Pod samym nosom u kogo-libo._ _Blizok lokotok, da ne ukusish_ _. Ya nashel tebya, sestra._ "

"I think she's talking to Morgan. She's repeating herself. I found you, sister. And Russian phrases. Stuff like under your own nose, and so near, yet so far."

"Well, they're not used to sleeping without each other within range," May said.

"She never did that at home," Callum said, "when she fell in Missouri. She called out for Morgan, and she woke up from some nightmare, but she never really . . . _spoke_."

"They've started talking to each other in their sleep lately," Bucky told May, "I've heard them. Pep's heard them. But Anya speaks Russian. Always."

The three of them swapped glances.

"Morgan's in the building."

* * *

"I want agents on every floor going up. Break off in fours, check in periodically, watch your surroundings. Sweep this entire building ground to ceiling. I want video footage from every squad. Anything out of place, take it down and bring it to me."

Hill turned away from the screens in front of her that was slowly changing from black to static to live feeds, to the group behind her.

"Cassie, Nicole, Shuri, Val Sub-level one with me. Bucky, Pepper, May. Sub-level two with me. Harley, Peter, Anya, Callum. Sub-level three. Be careful. No one's been underground in years. Callum, Harley, May, these are standard Sword helmets. You don't have suits or armour -- or otherwise. Wear these."

They nodded.

"Testing the line," Shuri said, "can everyone hear me on the line?"

They nodded again.

"Don't stray too far from each other," Hill said, " _I'm_ not even sure what we'll find down there."

* * *

"What do we do once we find them?" Callum asked, "if she really is as dangerous as you say, how are we supposed to defend ourselves and Morgan from her?"

The line was silent for a few seconds.

"Your best shot is breaking her out," Bucky eventually said.

"Can you do it?" Anya asked, "I know mamma did it for you. Could you break Sin out?"

"I don't know. I don't know what she loves, who she treasures, what her best memories are. I fought her thrice, but I only spoke to her when she was herself once before she disappeared."

"It's as good as we've got," Pepper said, "and I'd be willing to go out with everything I've got to save my daughter."

No one said a word, but on the second sub-level, May watched Bucky give Pepper a solemn nod.

Once or twice, one of them nearly shot a rat when the creature scurried along, startling them. It was dark and musty, and more than a few of them felt slightly claustrophobic as they walked along narrow passageways.

"I can see light bulbs," Brunnhilde murmured.

"Don't work," Hill said, "we cut off electricity to the sub-levels when we decided to remain above ground at all times."

"Joy," Harley grumbled.

Peter glanced back, shining his flashlight through the hallway. When he turned back, Anya was breaking away from the group.

"Slow down, little wolf."

Anya kept walking. "Morgan's here."

Peter glanced at Harley, then at Callum. The three followed Anya. Harley and Callum walked on either side of her, while Peter hung back, constantly checking behind them.

Without warning, Anya stopped in front of a door. Harley wondered if she was going to kick it down. Instead, she just reached for the knob and turned it.

"It's empty," Callum said, looking around at the large room.

Anya studied the room, narrowing her eyes.

Harley stood in the doorway, watching up and down the hallway.

"What's this?" Peter murmured to himself, trailing his hand over a cable coming from the ceiling down into the ground. "Hey, Shuri, can you track our location from level one?"

"More or less."

"I assume you're going to find a room, go inside and let me know if you see a cable in the south-west corner of the room. Hill, can you do the same on level two?"

A few minutes later, Nicole confirmed the cable, and a few seconds after, May did the same.

"Hill, how many sub-levels does this building have?" Peter asked.

"As far as I'm aware, three. Why?"

"I think Anya found a fourth."

"How do we get to it?" Cassie asked, "the elevator only went until three."

Peter glanced at Anya. "I think the little wolf has that covered."

"I found a trapdoor. Once I open it, she'll hear us."

"Wait for us to join you, little wolf," Shuri said.

"No, the longer we wait, the longer Morgan is in her hands . . . I have an idea, but no clue if it'll work."

If they didn't know any better, they would all think the line was dead.

"Let's hear it," Bucky eventually said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anya has a plan! finally taking a major role in Peter's little team im so proud of my russian troublemaker


	14. Chapter 14

"I am _not_ hacking Sword," Morgan said defiantly.

"I will torture you."

"I'm not letting you ruin the world because you have daddy issues and a rough past. More than half of my family had a rough past. You don't see _them_ trying to take over the world. I won't do it."

"I'll torture your sister instead."

Sin smirked when she saw Morgan's tough act waver. "You love your sister, don't you? Your brothers? What if I went after them, hmm? Your sister won't even see me coming. She fell out of the sky, remember? Bet she hasn't woken up yet."

"They'll find me," Morgan said, "she'll find me. I know it. When she does, she's gonna help me kick your ass."

"Damn right I am."

"Ann!"

Sin glared at Anya. "You're supposed to be injured."

"I was," Anya said, walking past Sin and trailing her hand over the desk. Sin turned to face her. "What, did you think you were the only one left with skewed serum in your body? Come on, we can't all be special, Sinthea."

"Once your sister opens the safe, you can have her. Stay out of my way until then."

"What? You'll give me my sister then try to kill my brother? I don't think so."

Behind Sin, Morgan watched her brothers silently drop from the ceiling -- along with Callum. What was _he_ doing there?

"Back. Off. You don't know what you're going up against."

"Oh, sweetie, I never do. It's my best quality. I mean, come on. I'm the biological daughter of a Red Room spy and a KGB agent that were both exposed to the Russian serum. I was adopted by the Black Widow and the Winter Soldier. I was raised by a literal army of superheroes. My own brother is the Amazing Spiderman. I mean, come on. I'm starting to run out of things to say -- are you ready?"

When Anya glanced behind her, Sin moved to turn around. Callum jammed his helmet on her head and Anya kicked Sin's leg, knocking her down. Peter got to work webbing Sin up.

"Helmet's on," Harley said.

"Sin?" Bucky asked, "do you know me?"

"Winter Soldier," Sin spat, "Hydra's little prince."

"We spoke once."

"I've never spoken to you."

"You have. Try to remember. You said you wanted to change the world, not destroy it. You said you hated Hydra. I know it's difficult, but you have to try. Think carefully. Do you remember why you're doing all of this? _Why_ do you want to ruin the world? Are you sure _that's_ what you want?"

Sin shook her head, grunting. Anya stood ready to tackle her if she somehow managed to break out of the web-prison.

"You are not what Hydra made you. You're not your father."

"You don't know me!" Sin shouted, straining against the webbing.

"Do you know yourself any better than I do?"

"I know who I am. My name is Sinthea Schmidt. My father founded Hydra. I will build it up again. My name is Sinthea Schmidt."

As she began to repeat herself, it clicked in Harley's head. "You said she had triggers? I think her state is _self_ -triggered."

"Your name is Sin," Bucky said over her.

"My name is Sinthea Schmidt. My father--"

"You are not your father."

"I will build it--"

"Hydra is dead."

"-- name is Sinthea--"

"Your name is Sin," Anya said with her father.

"--founded Hydra. I will--"

"You are not your father."

"My name is--"

"Hydra is dead."

"My father founded--"

"Your name is Sin," Morgan and her brothers joined.

"--build it up again."

"You are not your father," Pepper and May joined.

Slowly, they all spoke over Sin, drowning out her words until she herself couldn't hear them anymore.

"My name is Sin," she said with them, "I am not my father. Hydra is dead."

They stopped, waiting.

"My name is Sin. I am not my father. Hydra is dead. My name is Sin."

Carefully, Anya removed the helmet. "Who are you?"

"I don't know. I have to find out for myself."

Without another word, Sin vanished.

"Oh, so the Houdini trick is real," Peter grumbled, waving his hand in front of his face to get rid of the smoke.

"What happened?" Hill asked.

"She's gone," Callum said, watching Anya and the boys squash Morgan between them. "Morgan's safe."

* * *

Anya threw all her strength into pushing the door shut while Morgan drove a metal bar through the handles. They stepped aside to allow Peter to seal the doors shut down the middle.

"And talk it out!" Nicole shouted, banging on the door.

Shuri, having recorded the whole ordeal, clapped her hands and turned to leave. "Pizza and beer? Morgan and Anya get cola."

"Wha-- I'm eighteen!"

"Just barely," Callum said, "and besides, as your doctor, I said no."

Anya narrowed her eyes at Callum. "You are _so_ not my doctor, Barton."

"Doctor Barton," Nicole said, "look at that, my little brother's gonna be a doctor one day."

"Let's go before Darling Hilda drinks all the beer," Peter said, ushering them away.

And talking merrily amongst themselves, they left Harley and Cassie locked in the guest bathroom.

"Did you say you wanted to talk about something?" Harley eventually asked, "because I didn't."

Cassie shook her head. "What's there to talk about? We broke up. It just means that we're not sharing an apartment anymore. We're still friends."

Harley shrugged. "Is that why you ran off to Athens _the very next day_?"

"We had a hit! I'm _still_ trying to recover Pym tech! That's important to me too, you know. What was I supposed to do? Let them get away with my grandfather's stuff?"

"Look, Cass, I'm not trying to get back together. I'm not trying to win you back or whatever. Just be honest -- you bailed. Hope could've handled the situation in Athens blindfolded. Hell, _y_ _our mom_ could've worn Hope's suit and done it well enough. You jumped at it because you needed an escape."

Cassie narrowed her eyes at Harley. "I still hate that," she muttered.

Harley smiled. "I know all you girls better than you think, Cass. Look, you ended it--"

"I'm just figuring some stuff out, Harley, and I need space--"

"You have your reasons, Cassie, and I'm not going to pressure you for them. I trust you enough to know that whatever they are, they're valid. Just . . . keep in touch, okay? You're a fun person to be around, girlfriend or best friend. Besides, Morgan adores you. She always has. She was the most excited when she found out it was _you_ Peter asked Nicole to track down. Promise you won't disappear on us again?"

Cassie smiled. "I promise."

"Great, let's get out of here."

"How? They sealed the door with several precautions."

Harley scoffed. "Just because I don't have a fancy suit, doesn't mean I can't get into small spaces."

Cassie's eyes widened when Harley closed the toilet lid and climbed up on it before climbing the window bars. "The vents! You're a genius!"

"I hope they kept food for us, I'm _starving_."

* * *

"I love this family more than anything," May said, "and if something happened to one of our kids, I don't know what I'd do."

Bucky and Pepper gave her a warm smile and sat down on either side of her. They both leaned their heads on her shoulders.

"You did well today, James," Pepper said, "with Sin. Nat would've been proud of you."

"She's right," May said, momentarily leaning her head against Bucky's. She smiled at the head of blonde hair on her other shoulder. "And Tony would've loved seeing you as Rescue again."

"I had to. Our children were marching against a supersoldier."

May smiled and patted both their cheeks. "They'd be proud of us and our kids. I know it."

The three of them stared at the photo frame hanging above the fireplace. Tony and Natasha stood together, laughing at something someone else was saying. It was a beautiful moment, and it was theirs to cherish.

* * *

"So, you reinstated the Avengers after all, hm?"

_I just wanted to be like you_

Peter shook his head. "We're not the Avengers, your majesty. We could never be. The Avengers were carried in one hand by Mr Stark and Nat. Without them . . . there is no Avengers."

"Then what are we?" Brunnhilde asked, stopping at the top of the ramp.

_And_ _I_ _wanted you to be better_

"Something else," Peter said, looking up into the Warsong, "something better, maybe. Whatever we are, we're a force of our own."

"A force of your own," Hill said as the last person Peter had called in for help departed home, "I like that."

"A force," Peter mused to himself. "You think the team will stick, Hill?"

She shrugged. "You're right, you're not the Avengers. Yes, you came all together over a major threat. Yes, you banded together when one of our own was attacked. But you're no disaster beginning. You're already a family. And I have full faith that when the time comes, you'll come together to save the world. You know why?"

"Why?" Peter asked, waiting for it to turn into one of those odd moments where Maria Hill would say something so profound or cryptic, Peter felt like accusing her of spending too much time around Fury.

Instead, she grinned. "Because you have them all on speed dial."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, would you look at that. . .  
> the first instalment of The Spider and his Superheroes has come to a close. I know it was probably short, but like ..... the second instalment is looking even shorter. Anywho, this is just to let ya'll know the last part will be an extra scene (almost in the style of Marvel's post-credit scenes)
> 
> see you with my goodbyes in the next part!


	15. an extra scene

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> alternatively, what's happening wherever Tony and Nat ended up post-endgame

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> before I get into this, I want to know if you guys would like the link to an Incorrrect Quotes tumblr blog and/or Instagram account centered around this series? Let me know in the comments.
> 
> ONWARDS, CEASER

"Ha! Did you see that? Did you see it? My baby girl kicked your baby girl's ass! Did you see it?!"

"Tony, I really think we should be focusing on the fact that your daughter got kidnapped."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Nat. You're just bitter Morgan finally learnt Monopoly strategy."

"I am not!" Natasha cried, aghast.

"Or maybe you're bitter Pepper helped Morgan win and your husband somehow succeeded in helping your daughter go bankrupt."

"I swear I'm not!"

"You _so_ are."

The pair turned to their guest and both scowled.

"What are you doing here?" Tony asked, folding his arms.

"Yeah, I thought you were partying eternity away somewhere?"

"Well, I was watching my disaster of a brother attack a snake park, but then I heard Earth's Mightiest got a reboot." Loki stopped admiring his fingernails and stood up. His chair vanished with a soft 'poof' as he strolled over to the pair. "I take it everyone survived?"

"Of course everyone survived," Tony snapped, "how many times do I have to tell you that Peter's more than capable?"

Loki raised one eyebrow. "I once saw him put a bagel in a blender and when the thing broke, he tossed the whole thing out the window."

"In his defence," Tony began.

Natasha and Loki waited.

"I got nothing. So he has his dumb moments, didn't we all?"

"I used to be a God, so no."

"I'm the definition of perfect, so no."

"Screw you two. I'd try to kill myself to get out of eternity with you two, but that's not really an option now, is it?"

"You know," Natasha said, "it reminds me of the coffee machine incident."

"Shut up, Agent Romanoff."

"Make me, Mr Stark."

Tony and Natasha paused at the sound of a crunch. Loki paused and slowly swallowed his popcorn, maintaining eye contact. "I sensed drama."

"I'm going to stab you with your ridiculous helmet, reindeer games."

Loki smirked. "It'll satisfy you for an hour at best, Stark. Why waste your energy on that when you can toss Barnes off a cliff?"

"I'll throw _you_ off a cliff," Natasha said.

"All the more reason for me to hang around and annoy you two. Who are you even stalking? Your daughters lead the most mundane lives of everyone you know. I mean come on, at least follow the witch. I saw her reverse a hurricane. Now _she's_ fun to watch."

"Well, I'm sorry if I want to see my daughter grow up," Tony snapped.

Loki shrugged. "I wouldn't know. Have you looked at Strange lately? Last week, he fell through his own portal and nearly sent Christine into cardiac arrest -- ironic, since she was dealing with a patient with heart problems. Mortals are such fun things to watch."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "It's moments like these that make me wish you were still alive."

"I'd make your daughters' lives interesting for sure. Give me one year with them and they'd both be little goddesses of mischief."

"And it's moments like these that make me glad you're dead," Tony said, glancing at Loki.

"Oh, look," Loki said, glancing past Natasha and Tony, "Morgan's making out with Cal."

"Morgan's _what_?!"

"Ha," Loki said when it was clear he had been lying, "even dead you're such easy prey, Stark."

"Shut up," Tony grumbled, pushing Loki away from him.

"I don't want the grease ball," Natasha said, pushing Loki back.

"That stings, Barnes. Honestly. Have you no manners? No heart? What strange odds, don't you think? Of all the children you could've picked, you adopted the one that had the serum."

"I thought you weren't paying attention to their lives," Tony said.

"I never claimed as such. I only said it's rather boring to watch them play a game that almost always ends in tears. I'd prefer to watch your family play Uno, actually. That tends to get violent. Anywho, I'm going to watch my brother battle Quill for dominance in that stupid spaceship. Again. The rabbit seems rather entertaining."

"Rabbit," Tony said, looking at Natasha, "he said rabbit."

Natasha shrugged as Loki wandered off.

They turned back to see Anya millimetres away from flipping the board.

" _I give up! Not_ _only_ _do_ _I_ _have zero_ _property_ _, but_ _I'm_ _only_ _the poorest person in this_ _game_ _and my chance card just asked me to pay tax. This is it._ _I'm_ _going to live_ _on_ _the_ _streets_ _. Goodbye, everyone,_ _I'll_ _remember_ _you all in therapy!_ "

"Drama queen," Natasha muttered with a smile.

"I wonder where she got that," Tony mused, shooting Natasha a grin.

"Hey, isn't this that space station your kid works for, Stark?"

Tony and Natasha wandered away to join Loki.

"Sword?" Tony asked.

"Ridiculous."

"I think it's cool," Natasha said, "sword and shield. They go together. What about it?"

"Don't you have some kind of adversity to that symbol?" Loki asked, pointing.

"Oh no," Natasha whined, "not again!"

"That's it," Tony said, "I need to get back to the land of the living. I need to end this stupid thing. This thing's died and come back more times than you!"

"I'm offended that you think I've faked my death so few times," Loki deadpanned.

"What are we gonna do?" Natasha asked, looking at the red spray paint.

"What can we do?" Loki asked, "we're dead."

"We hope that Peter and his team really are better," Tony said, "and we hope that they kill 'em once and for all."

Suddenly not in such a great mood, the three of them sighed and stared at Sword headquarters' storage room. Haphazardly sprayed onto a wall that had probably previously been hidden by the case strewn on the floor, was a logo the Avengers had come to loathe, and two words below it, the paint dripping down to the skirtings.

_Hail Hydra_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oooooooo
> 
> and to think, I was going to end this like that and make y'all ask me for more. Well, do not fear, the reader in me ~~beat up~~ propelled the writer in me into starting the next instalment. 
> 
> Anyway, writing The Soldier and his Widow started out great and became really painful once I saw Endgame. Still, I absolutely love Marvel and I plan on sticking around even after Phase 5. I'm not sure how many instalments this series will have, so just stick around for a while and let's see where this takes us, hm? 
> 
> Also, with A-Force: Assemble, I brought in and pulled my own twist on comic characters Abigail Brand and Sin. Expect to see a new comic character making an appearance in the second instalment (although I can tell you that her age is going to be extremely off and we're gonna watch her grow up through the series). If you want, drop your guesses on who she is in the comments section. 
> 
> Also, please do leave a comment letting me know what you think. I always love to hear from you, the reader! and now, I bid thee adieu and I'll see you again in A-Force: Project Recursion.


End file.
